


WHAT’S IN A NAME

by TheWinsomeWasp



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Abuse, Blind Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossdressing, F/M, M/M, Spies & Secret Agents, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-03
Updated: 2013-08-03
Packaged: 2017-12-22 08:00:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/910814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWinsomeWasp/pseuds/TheWinsomeWasp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>the Avengers meet the Avengers 2.0 no Avengers were permanently harmed in the making of this fiction</p>
            </blockquote>





	WHAT’S IN A NAME

Warning: This fiction is rife with OCs and one character borrowed from an alternate-universe of Covert Affairs see cast list at end for details and casting. I own no recognizable characters. No money is being made – unless you want to send some that would be really cool. I’d say it’s Avengers-light but it’s more Avengers 2.0 with critical and timely guest appearances from the originals. Contains Marvel level violence – for those of you who didn’t grow up on the classics that means death, dismemberment, rape (off screen) massive body counts (mostly off screen) – movie Avengers characters may be slightly influence by my memories of the comic (I’m a big fan from way back, stuck with them through the whole Scarlet Witch/Vision debacle so I figure it counts as time served or something) 

 

WHAT’S IN A NAME

By TheWinsomeWasp

 

PRESENT

Brown eyes narrowed in irritation at the sound of footsteps passing across the floor just inches in front of her face. Impatiently she stripped the wire with her teeth and by touch alone in the dark crawlspace twisted the ends together and grounded them. Shoddy workmanship, she thought and restrained herself from huffing out her exasperation with how poorly run this facility was. If she’d been in charge their team would never have gotten away with a fraction of their plans. She stilled her movements and counted her heartbeats, she resolved to reach five hundred before deciding what to do about the unplanned occupancy of the room above her. 

There was no going back, tonight they would get the kids out and whether ‘the Avengers’ lived though it would depend on SHIELD and how well their ‘Hawkeye’ could predict SHIELD’s surveillance and rescue protocols. And how trustworthy his contacts were; in her father’s place if she had intercepted the request for aid, she would have answered just the way SHIELD allegedly had and set them up to fall big time.

She counted an extra hundred heartbeats because Steve was always telling her she acted rashly and without thinking through the consequences. Right now the consequences were either dying right here being all quiet and undetected or trying to get out without being heard. Being caught meant being raped repeatedly before dying with the rest of these losers. Well she hadn’t lived her life laying on her back and doing nothing and she wasn’t about to die that way. She quietly began shimming, oh so slowly toward light which indicated where the floor vent was behind the bar.

It took forever to make it across the room’s length. She was almost to safety, where she could climb the access tunnel they’d built/broken in between the walls, up out of the danger zone, when the thick canvas coverall she wore snagged on another nail. The tearing sound was obscenely loud and she froze. Stilling her breathing and did math in her head. She was going to die. Not because she was caught but because it was taking too long. The com in her ear made a soft clicking sound, repeated in the pre-established code. Hawkeye was giving her the ten second count down.

Fuck it, she thought and pop the vent and rolled up out from under the flooring into the narrow space behind the bar. Grabbing the nozzle of the carbonated beverage dispenser she hopped up on the bar and started spraying the men who turned in surprise. Among the assorted cursing she thought she heard one ask who she was so it seemed appropriate to drop the hose and say, “I am Iron Man,” just as the room crackled with high voltage dropping them all to the ground. 

If her work had not been in vain there were several other places at various levels around the subbasement now live. Hopefully all the others, not having the lure of liquor, had remained deserted. She’d told her father his screening process would bite him in the ass. The idea of thugs like these breaking into an executive lounge to drink the good stuff, really the quality of hired help, she sniffed. Eyeing the dangerous path to the door and lamenting her now dead com crackling on the floor, she looked up. She then climbed the perilous shelves behind the bar and lifted up a ceiling tile and slithered up into the space above. 

PAST

Even at a distance she could see from the confused look on Steve’s face that he had no idea Madeline Cooper was trying to flirt with him. Really, the nerve of that girl, she thought. As if she hadn’t staked her claim of him over a decade ago, some people. Obviously Maddie was trying to talk to him, intelligently, about music and failing spectacularly. Maddie apparently believe that having such a limited pool of appropriate gender and aged students meant poaching was socially acceptable. 

She really should let him twist in the wind. If he insisted on wearing his pants that tight, he should expect to be waylaid by all asunder with overt and covert offers to get him out of them. She did owe him still for that time when they were seven and he’d helped her hid the fact that a teeny tiny miscalculation had blown a hole in her thumb nail the size of a pencil eraser. It had taken a good six month of subterfuge to let it heal to the point none of the adults would have taken away her erector sets so it might take a lifetime to pay that back.

Striding up to Steve and Maddie, she slid one arm around his waist and used the hand of the other to bush his tussled dark hair out of his eyes. Pressing against him from knee to shoulder she purred, “Sorry, I’m late, Lover.” And added as if just noticing Maddie, “Oh, hi.”

Maddie offered a gritted teethed smile and said, “Allouetta.” 

Steve blinked and asked, “Are you late?” The hand not holding his guitar case eased around her waist and settled comfortably on her hip as if her being plastered against him was the most natural thing in the world. Weird, normally he avoided PDAs at school, something about not stroking out his mom. Al figured the whole reason his mom was the school’s counselor was because she thought it looked less creepy than openly stalking her son to chase off undesirable influences, like her. 

“We have to talk. Privately,” She whispered against the shell of his ear. 

“I was going to meet Sharon in the library anyway,” Maddie said, and sulked off.

“Seriously, Al. I knew she was hitting on me,” Steve said, rolling his forehead against hers, while suppressed laughter danced in his eyes. 

“Sure you did, Stud,” she said. They stayed plastered together as she manhandled him through a door to a maintenance corridor that led out of their far too heavily monitored school. 

Once outside they skirted the fitness course and slipped past the last of the security cameras, timing their moves as the cameras panned back and forth. Al refrained from voicing how stupid it was to cut cost and not simply mount more cameras so that all areas were visible as fixed points, since she knew Steve had heard it all a hundred times before. Their brown eyes locked briefly and she rolled hers as she could see by his smirk he remembered every time. 

About thirty feet into the woods surrounding the campus and research facility was a thicket of thorns. If you knew what to look for there was a path cut into it. Once in the center the two flopped down on soft overturned dirt in the twenty foot center clearing.  
“Something is seriously, seriously wrong,” she stated without preamble as he laid his head in her lap.

“How serious?” his tone was flippant but looked up at the silently conveying concern.

“Daddy’s not acting… well he is acting like himself, but he’s not concerned over what he should be,” she said.

“Meaning you,” he said.

She gave a sharp tug to his thick locks she’d been combing her fingers though followed by a look that implied he really didn’t want to go there. She would pit her pampered daddy’s princess against his spoiled little mamma’s boy any day of the week. 

“Let’s just say I’ve done some creative shopping, diverted some resources from a few of the warehouses, things which should have been caught or at least caused his so called head of security to question a few department chairs, but so far not a peep. Either Einstein hasn’t noticed or there is so much graft and budget padding in this hellhole it’s just blended in with business as usual.” She stopped tugging his hair and patted his hair distractedly. 

He closed his eyes again and just when she thought he was going to ignore it and take a nap he sighed and asked, “What things?”

“Parts, chemicals, some sweet military grade explosives,” she answered. “Mostly the stuff that’s kept off the manifests and coded in the inventory, but they should be up in arms thinking a shipments been high jacked or that one of the alphabet soup agencies knows their up to no good-“

“This again,” He cut her off, the nerve of him. He twisted into a seated position and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezed a little and looked her right in the eyes before saying, “Seriously Al, this was amusing when we were thirteen but, really? Your dad is not Dr. Evil and he is not plotting to take over the world –“

“You listen to me Steven Rogers,” she hissed between gritted teeth. “I have pointed out time and again that none of the researchers here publish, no peer review, no attending symposiums on clean energy, or artificial intelligence or whatever the topic of the season. No one leaves for higher paying jobs or to opt out of research for the womb of academia. This is not natural. Other companies do not keep employees for life. They have turn over. People leave and go to competitors and then come back when a better offer is made. And what about the spouses, how many work here as well or are encourage to serve some function at the company store or the school.”

He sighed again as if not relishing having to talk her around to what he saw as reasonable so she jumped in and said, “Your problem is you don’t know what’s normal. You’re not normal. Your mother and your father work here. You have gone to school here your entire life. You have never been more than a couple miles from this base-“

“Okay, we’ve hashed this out before,” He said. “Both of us have paranoid parents.”

And then he looked awkward. Because now she only had one paranoid parent; and although her mother’s death was still too fresh and no one was saying suicide she was not going to let him sidetrack her. “That’s just it,” she said. “Where’s the paranoia? That time you and I snuck off to see that concert? They sent out enough men to search every ‘gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse’ but weapons go missing and mysterious bills for freeze dried foods in quantities-“

“You’re going crazy survivalist on me? I was prepared for party girl or mad scientist or any combination thereof-” He snarked.

“Well what’s your plan Captain America?” she interrupted. Which was a low blow, he took enough shit for his name that she normally chose to be above hitting there, but she needed him on board, this was critical. “Do we just sit back and wait to find our why the hell more and deeper levels are being excavated? What do they need to keep out of sight and satellite sensor range? Steve has it ever occurred to you that an onsite school isn’t just a bitchen employee perk but an excellently way to hold people’s kids hostage?”

“Jesus Christ, Al,” he face palmed, but when he looked up he finally looked scared. She thought he was finally going to take her seriously when he said, “You need medication.”

PRESENT

The security cameras in this area went out intermittently. The guards knew how to loosen the feeds and then hook them back up after. After what depended on the guard and what their preferred vice was. Most of them were from various organized crime throughout Eastern Europe, some on loan, some too well known to be of use to their original organizations. The guards had turned one of the unused labs into an informal rec room where they met up for cards, to swap cigarettes, share alcohol or buy drugs. If you knew where to look a few of the storage areas along one corridor had cots and sometimes they would smuggle in a local girl or at least that was what most of them told themselves because those private rooms were mostly used when one or two of the guards pulled in one of prisoner/residents or one of the kids. They called it discipline or interrogation. It turned into just one more vice that could be bought or sold, blackmailed or bargained with. 

So when a blonde in high heels with smeared lipstick emerged from a supply closet and tugged futilely at her short red dress, it caused no surprise. The guard who had notice the leads unhooked from the camera smirked and leered as she ducked her head and tried to slip by. He stepped into her path and said in Russian, “working a little over time?” One meaty hand grabbed her thigh and moved up under her dress, he froze when his knuckles brushed the jock strap covering her junk. He looked down into cold blue eyes and didn’t even feel the straight razor sever the artery in his throat. 

Stepping over his body, the blond moved with subtle sway of the hips and purposeful stride, four inch stilettos making a soft click with every rhythmic step. At the end of the corridor the keys obtained from the dead man in the closet opened an unmarked door. Leaving the light off and using a tiny halogen flash light the blond crossed the empty outer office to an inner room. Cool to the point of being uncomfortable, computer servers took up most of the space. Using a diagram he’d obtained from the same corpse as the keys, he moved quickly four columns down and over six. The blond pried off the cover and pulled out a mother board, removed a chip and replaced it with another before putting it all back together. Finally he put a small communicator in his ear and said, “This is the Widow, it’s a go.”

PAST

Seth watched Mr. Anderson rhapsodize about technology and the strides made in just the last decade. Mr. Anderson was smoking hot and Seth had resigned himself to kind of having a boy crush on him. That was okay, because from the way that Mr. Anderson went on and on about Stark tech, he figured that Mr. Anderson kind of had a boy crush on Tony Stark. The only thing that bothered him about his crush was it was so cliché. The quiet kid who writes and reads way to much crushing on the computer teacher, yeah, embarrassing much. He didn’t mind fitting so neatly into a teen archetype but did it have to be Marcy from BtVS? 

So he sat quietly in class and ogled Mr. Anderson’s fine, fine ass. It was an advantage of having a blind teacher; they would remain oblivious to their students using them as a sex object. Sure the other students noticed. But it wasn’t like he gave a damn about any of them. Except maybe Al, she sat next to him in Latin and they had some interesting talks, like now that the Earth had been invaded by aliens during the ‘Battle in Manhattan’ - was Science Fiction really fiction? They’d also shared some significant looks over some of the other stuff no one talked about but was creepy as hell. Cameras, directional mics, guards posted around the perimeter of campus allegedly because terrorist had targeted the company. They were talking about forming an ‘our fathers are evil overlords’ club but were thinking of shortening the name, maybe ‘Spawn of Evil’ or something, it was a work in progress.

Okay maybe he was being too obvious in his appreciation of Mr. Anderson’s ascetics, because Jake Allen was mouthing the word faggot to him, before Jason Adams who sat behind Allen pushed Allen’s head forward until it connected with his desk with a hollow thunk.

In a real school those two would be on the football team and best friends. Here Allen took all the energy he should be burning up on sports to torment anybody who wasn’t exactly like him. Which meant that he should have liked Adams because they were both athletic – big, not just tall for their age but broad shouldered and muscled. Jason Adams had always kept an eye on the younger and smaller kids, a habit from before his little sister died. That usually translated to mean that if Jason was within six feet of Allen, he was pushing him into a wall or the floor or any handy surface. 

“Gentlemen?” Mr. Anderson tilted his head listening intently, “Is there something you would like to share with the class?”

Allen and Adams muttered separately, “No, Mr. Anderson.” And the lecture continued. 

When class was dismissed, Seth waited and started to leave once the other kids had cleared out.

“Seth?” Mr. Anderson said. And that was spooky because he didn’t wear aftershave or cologne and he’d been told he moved too quietly by his father many times. Well usually his dad barked out ‘stop skulking around’ but that meant he was quiet. 

“Yeah? I mean, yes. Yes Mr. Anderson,” he said. 

“You show real insight regarding the Turing test,” Anderson said. “On paper your eloquent and frankly well in advance of your peers, but you don’t participate in class. Is something wrong? If any of the other students-“

“It’s not.” Seth wished that was enough. The disadvantage of a blind teacher is you could not plead with them using big watering eyes to get them to drop uncomfortable subjects. “This isn’t a good place to talk. So I don’t. Talk that is.”

Anderson cocked his head again. Seth saw a fierce intelligence in his eyes even without them focusing on anything. He wondered, not for the first time, what this man had been like before he lost his sight. He had interesting skill sets for a disable veteran. 

“Do you play Halo?” Anderson said

“uhm, not much? I have it,” Seth didn’t bother to hide his confusion.

“I’ll be online tonight about 10,” Anderson said and gave a character name and codes. “Maybe we can talk about your academic future then?”

“Yeah, maybe,” Seth said. He left wondering if he just made a date with a teacher, or if he was being recruited for some kind of clandestine spy type of activity. He could hope for the former but given where he lived and went to school, yeah, he was doomed. 

It had been his last class, he lingered not wanting to get caught in the crush of students milling about. K though 12 in the same school made for an interesting cross section. There were a little less than three hundred students but there had been up to six hundred when the school first started, but the under three foot crowd still outnumbered the upper classmen. Thank God, the staff was aging though and not breeding as much. 

As he passed the boy’s lav Jake stepped into his path and said, “Aw did you get shot down? Someone’s hot for teacher,” he leered and laughed. 

Seth pivoted and started to walk the other way but Jake grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back flush against his chest and said, “Tell you what fag, I’m gonna make your day. What say you get on your knees and –“

Seth brought his foot down hard on Jake’s instep. Jake reflexively let go of him and Seth kicked back and up hoping to connect with Jake’s back but Jake had moved and Seth’s foot connected with his head. Jake hit the floor and Seth kicked him again in the back.

Turning back in his original direction Seth came face to face with Jason Adams. Jason looked dazed, his jaw slack as if he had been about to speak he clutched an art portfolio in one hand. Jason blinked and looked down at Jake and then over at Seth and said, “Anyone ever tell you, you got a real taking way of kicking a fella in the head.”

Because it had just been that kind of day, Seth said, “No. No one has,” and walked away. 

PRESENT

He held firmly on Jake’s hair with one hand and kept the other arm tight around his throat. “I can and will snap you neck if I think you in any way will put your life ahead of anyone else, we clear?” The dumbass tried to nod but couldn’t. “You need to hold it together maybe another twelve more hours. It’s not too late for me to kill you and say the guards did it and so help me and that would be much easier on me. Sit down, shut up and stay out of my way or I will drop you,” Jason pushed him away and then let go of his hair. 

Jake gave him a wary look and sat down next to Maddie, who for once was blessedly quiet. She was sobbing breathy little hitches and cradling her bleeding hand but at least she wasn’t caterwauling any more. Jason loved her kid brother Stewie, just a little bit. Maddie had kept up a steady prediction of death and dismemberment ever since he had started moving the two hundred plus kids through the planned exit route. It had taken over a week to break them out a few at a time and hold them up with Al’s survivalist’s hoards. Stewie had finally freaked on her and bit her hard enough to break the skin. Jason had slipped him the last of the chocolate reserves to share with his friends. Because Al, bless her crazy little heart thought to get camp stoves, first aid supplies, enough beans, and freeze dried fruits and vegetable for twice their numbers to live on for fifty years but did not consider chocolate an essential. Jason though Seth was a much better girl and not just because of how hot he looked in that red number he’d gone out in tonight. 

Steve had ordered all nonessential communication to be shut down tonight. Jason didn’t know if he could make it not knowing if they lost anyone. He’d ask Mr. Anderson if they could just have some sort of signal to let him know Seth was alright but Steve had shot it down before Anderson could respond. Steve was probably right if any of them died the others would just have to keep going and they might not be able to if they knew. 

Normally, even if they weren’t running an op they transmitted at unpredictable intervals to sew confusion and using their Avengers code names wasn’t just to be cool and sound spylike. Mr. Anderson said people like that didn’t just stumble into Manhattan in time to fight an invasion force. His theory that they had been put together and if that agency was monitoring transmissions or email reports or anything that they might turn up in it had just within the last twenty four hours. They had been planning to evac the kids as soon as they could find a way to make sure they would be safe once away. Seth had been the one to point out that any of them could simply be reclaimed by their parents if they showed up in another country. For Seth and Al that would be a death sentence if their fathers figured out they had were the part of the vigilantes and not rescued victims. Seth pointed out that many of the kids were like Steve, unsure of the status of one or both of their parents and might be pressured to return for the safety of a loved one.

Their computer teacher, now communications and operations specialist, had also leaked some info to some shadowy contacts he wouldn’t say how he had. They had a back up plan, crazy paranoid Al might be, but if there was no SHIELD, if this agency was just Jacque Larroquette way to round up the vigilantes, at least they could keep the kids out of his hands. Tonight, provided he could get all of them to a nearby access point where Anderson guaranteed that baring an earlier pick up, a freight train would make an unscheduled stop and he could load them into several empty box cars and be sure that the CIA would vet anyone who tried to claim them. That smacked of a real person not just hacking their system and adding or altering information. Hopefully it was a real person he could trust and not someone who would sell them out. Well, hopefully, SHIELD really showed and once Anderson was convinced that they weren’t a front for their very own evil overlord, he’d give them coordinates and they could fly out of here. 

Little Donna Peyton hugged his thighs and looked up and smiled. “Pick me up, Hulk.” She’d been his sister Lily’s BFF; they had been inseparable so he couldn’t just growl at her. She was more prone to kick him in the knee than cry anyway. So he sighed and then scooped her up and held her on his hip with one arm around her waist the way he’d always done with Lily, before pacing down beside the ordered groups and waited for the signal to start herding cats again. 

PAST

“Jason,” Mrs. Rogers, who functioned as one of the school’s counselors and not for the first time he wondered if the people holding non-research jobs in this place had any qualifications in the field they served, said in her earnest and understanding voice. “Jason, I know you and Jake don’t get along. I think both of you might benefit from mediation.”

“Do you think that would help him be less of an asshat?” Jason asked.

“Jason!” She said. 

Seriously she had a teenaged boy herself, although, privately Jason thought Steve was a bit of a wuss. He didn’t intentionally hide behind Al, but everyone knew if you went after one of him you went after her. Instead of pointing this out he said, “It’s a word. Check Wikitonary. It means you have your head up your ass.”

She had that look like she was going to threaten to tell his mother. His mother would just look at her and ask ‘Is he an asshat?’ or at least she would have before Lily died. Now she might just look at her with wounded eyes that said ‘your child is alive and healthy’ a look most of the other adults went to extremes to avoid. 

“So you don’t think talking this out with him will help,” She asked

“I think him not using his size and strength to mess with other students would help,” Jason said.

“He showed up with a bruised kidney and some interesting marks,” she trailed and arched a significant look as if Jason were going to say ‘oh, alright you got me’.

Jason smirked as he remembered slim but wiry Seth Hawke putting Jake down like he was Emma Peel it had been pretty sweet, “Sound like he picked the wrong prey, someone was bound to fight back. You and the rest of the staff, you always think I’m protecting the other students. Does it ever occur to you that stopping Jake from harassing them could have prevented those injuries?”

“That’s not your job, Jason. You need to tell-“ she started.

“You’re not unaware of Jake’s behavior. You. Do. Nothing. Mediation?” He stared at her and then added. “Truth is you don’t care. As long as your kid isn’t getting harassed, it’s not your problem. You only brought me in because there was a medical report and you’re obligated to note that you investigated. I didn’t do it. Jake will say I didn’t do it. He won’t say who did it because this place is run the way it is. He knows you never stopped him and if he turns you loose on the one that finally fought back---” Jason arched the same significant look right back at her.

“Are you saying someone connected to management did this,” she started.

“It wasn’t Al, much as you’d like it to be,” Jason snorted. “Yes, everyone down to the first graders knows you think that slutty bitch has corrupted your son and if you could find a way to forbid him from going near her and not offend the big boss you would. If you, as an adult, tailor your actions and choices to stay on the good side of Jacque Larroquette do you really think Jake would have tried to rape his daughter.” 

And that was what someone literally biting their tongue looked like. She was mad. That mad that people who refused to raise their voice and just said ‘I’m angry. I’m very, very angry’ looked. Not that anyone in his family got mad like that. He’d much rather have someone yell or throw shit than this passive aggressive stuff. “I don’t know where you-” she stopped and started again, “Young man it is none of your business-” She stopped again and carefully placed the silver pencil she’d been planning to map out his mediation with at the top of the page and pressed the palms of her hands together. Was she praying for patience? Did people do that?

“So what you’re saying,” she started in an eerily calm voice, “Is that it was a young lady, who injured Mr. Allen and it was in self-defense.”

He blinked, shook his head as if removing water from his ears, it still didn’t make sense but he wanted out of there and away from the crazy lady. He resolved then and there to go easier on her son in the future because this, this earned you time served or something. He looked at her and said, “Yes. Of course. After all, men can’t be raped.”

PRESENT

“Still holding?” Mr. Anderson’s voice asked thought the ear piece.

“Yeah. Hawkeye are you sure that they responded to these coordinates?” He asked. 

“Don’t worry, Cap. Hold position. You have incoming.” Hawkeye saw all. But Steve saw no movement, no light. The forest around was quiet. He waited at the bramble clearing tucked under a thicket and out of sight he should spot anyone coming in. 

He wasn’t even allowed to hum, time was crawling. He wanted to check on Al and the others. If they were off getting shot to hell he wanted to die with them not get picked up sometime tomorrow when the fucking SHIELD finally shuffled its bureaucratic assets into the area. 

He would have missed the woman but the big guy behind her was in no way stealthy. “This is it?” the guy asked.

The woman just nodded, she looked directly where he was crouched. 

Steve breathed out as if stepping on stage for a recital, and stood up. “Hi,” he kept his hands in full view because the woman was scarier than Al. Just as he was about to introduce himself the moon came out from behind a cloud and he could see, kind of. “Fuck me. Seriously that is in no way stealthy,” he hissed. “Don’t you have a gray or black version of that. You’re like the biggest target ever!”

Professional. He was supposed to be professional. And hey the real Avengers were here so maybe he could stop being shot at because bullets, yeah they hurt like a son of a bitch. 

The woman, the real Black Widow, remained stone faced but her eyes slid to the real Captain America. Was he blushing? It was impossible to tell in the moonlight. 

“Yeah. Sorry. Let’s start again. I’m Steve Rogers,” He started.

“You don’t have to use code names with us,” Captain America said.

“Dandy. But I’m Steve Rogers, no relation.” And then he paused and frowned because he’d said that all his life but he’d never really been inclined to check so he added, “that I know of.”

The next twenty minutes were spent slipping them in past the cameras, motion sensors and alarms. He explained the timing, locations of tools and ways to disable and enable them as they went. The Widow just nodded and he was sure she could do it or pass the information on to any SHIELD back up, God he hoped there was back up. Cap kept looking at him but didn’t seem to be paying attention to the tech. Steve could relate after all he was a user not a maker or a programmer but Al had made sure he knew all this because she didn’t want him dead. Maybe that super soldier stuff made it so he didn’t need to worry so much about dying.

Once in, they paused on a catwalk over a currently deserted garage. They had light, were out of camera or sensor range, could see anyone approaching so Steve stopped and said. “I can get some coveralls if you want to… you know, be more blendy.”

Captain America gave him a look which made Steve wonder if English was his native language. “I’m fine, thanks,” and then the superhero hit him with a nonsequencer, “are you any relation to Tony Stark.”

“Dude, we can hit Ancestry.com until your heart content after we make sure all the people I don’t want dead, don’t die, k?” Steve said. Oh God, he’d been named after a moron. If Al met this guy she would never let him live it down. 

And now that he thought of her he couldn’t stop thinking of Al. She was out there playing with electricity. Her love affair with caged lightening had stared young and he would never forget the smell. Burnt nail, smelled much *much* worse than burnt hair, not that he hadn’t seen her singed and burnt over the years. And now he wondered if anyone would even find her body if she gambled and lost that she could stick to the plan without it literally exploding on her. 

“Hawkeye, this is Cap. I’ve got guests at point zeta. Give me eyes,” Steve said. 

He was surprised to notice when Anderson responded both of the heroes were able to hear his voice over their coms as well. “Hulk is on track. Given our guest they may not need to make it all the way but they are slightly ahead of schedule so in a holding pattern. Widow is a go and will meet you at point psi. Iron Man has not checked in but my sensors tell me all four sites are up and running, so she may have just blown her com. Again,” His voice wasn’t as distorted as normal and Steve was reminded yet again that he’d never asked if Auggie sang. It was a pleasant baritone. When this was all over it might be nice to get to know him when they weren’t planning massive death and destruction. 

“Hawkeye?” The widow’s lip twitched just a bit as if she found it odd to a call another that name. “You might want to evac now. Once we confirm that the children are safe this could turn into a ground war. With us that can be dangerous to bystanders.”

Auggie’s voice purred out of the com and Steve had a brief moment of understanding for Seth’s crush. He’d never really noticed other guy’s asses, but occasionally an interesting voice, like Vin Diesel or Alan Rickman would completely turn his head. “I certainly appreciate your concern. And never let it be said I don’t give due note to the admonishments of a beautiful woman. But thanks to our Widow, I am now the ghost in the machine. Don’t worry. I’ll be watching until the end. Think of me as the angel on your shoulder.”

Oh God, Steve though. He’s hitting on her. Maybe if you were blind she didn’t look so scary. Adults were unbelievable. Here’s hoping they all lived and Mr. Anderson got to have scary, scary sex with the assassin in the bodysuit . Lord knows it would hit all Jason’s Emma Peel kinks. And his own very scary girlfriend hadn’t checked in. Lovely. If the shit hit the fan he was going to follow the explosions. That’s where she’d be, cackling madly like a Spark. 

Steve scrubbed his hands over his face when he turned back to the superheroes he noticed that the Black Widow looked like she wasn’t prepared for a civilian to offer to watch her back. 

“He’s blind.” Steve said. “I mean, if there was no one to go get him he could probably get out. ‘Cause he’s this freaky ninja who taught all of us some basic moves to get away from the guards. Not the ‘this will disable your opponent in a spar’ stuff, but the junk that will kill or maim. Our Widow prefers a straight razor but took to the gouging of eyes and snapping of necks like a duck to water.”

“You can call me Natasha,” The Black Widow said. 

PAST

Steve idle played a somber tune. He wasn’t even sure what it was so he let his hands keep moving until he realized it was ‘Harris and the Mare’. He slapped his palm flat against the strings and sighed. This was getting him nowhere. Normally if this was anyone else he’d go to his mom. She was a counselor and if any other student was grieving in a self-destructive way she’d get them help. But this was Al. His mother and Al; fire and gasoline.

He had never figured it out when he was a kid. His mother didn’t like Al, didn’t want him to like Al but was in the awkward position of having to kiss up to Al’s parents so could hardly say keep your little hellion away from my angel. Al, even at five, had known when people were being nice to her just because of her parents. This was probably why she liked Steve so much, because he had to admit that he was almost as clueless to politics now as he had been back then. If his mother had sat him down at nine years old and explained Al had designs on his body he’d have had the typical nine year old response. He took some ribbing over the years because his best friend was a girl and then in sixth grade she’d, as Mrs. Larroquette said, ‘blossomed’ which meant she become a ‘C’ cup overnight and suddenly he was the envy of even the older boys.

By the time his mother had been angrily arguing with his father and using the word ‘harlot’ she had already lost the battle. 

“Everything all right, son?” his dad asked. His dad was home? Steve glanced at the clock. Not terribly early but dad was gone more than he was around. “You just sound, or rather your music sounded, down.”

“I’m worried about Al, Dad,” he said. And okay, his dad was the second worst person because he couldn’t be trusted not to spill to Mr. Larroquette, but he wasn’t giving him the standard ‘I’m so disappointed in my feckless musician son’ look so any port in a storm. “She. She’s not taking her mom’s death well.”

“You have to give her time,” his dad started and leaned against the frame of the doorway. “Losing a parent is hard at any age but particularly when you’re young.”

“Hear me out before you say no,” Steve said and almost paused for his father’s exasperated lecture number 47 ‘do not start out a negotiation with hear me out before you say no’. “What if, just for a week or two we went away? Maybe Bali, she likes spas and shit. We could hit one of those all-inclusive place she can be wrapped and pumiced or whatever, I’ll do some composing. You know we’re fine as far as school work goes and I think it would do her a world of good.”

Ron Rogers rubbed his eyes. Looked at Steve, really looked at him not the passing glance that compared him to some chart drawn up before he was born as to where he should be developmentally and how far short he was falling. He moved from leaning against the door jam and came full into Steve’s bedroom. Sitting at the desk chair he kept looking at his son, shirtless in drawstring pants, lounging on the bed hugging his guitar like a teddy bear. 

“My sixteen year old son wants to get away for a couple of weeks with his girlfriend, maybe to another country,” Ron paused. “Steve, are you trying to kill your mother?”

“No. Dad. This isn’t about Mom. Wait, you’re worried about sex? Seriously? Dad, in the real, real world, going to another country with lots of interesting things to do is less conductive to sex than say, oh staying here with nothing else to do. You’ve never heard of bad weather baby booms?” Steve asked

“Oh, God,” his father said. “You’re not a virgin.”

“If that’s messing up your plan for some form of human sacrifice can’t say I’m sorry,” Steve said, wincing as he said it because he had an impending feeling of doom like his dad might try to give him the sex talk.

“Does your mother know?” his father asked.

“Isn’t that why she’s been calling Al a harlot all these years?” Steve said.

His father face palmed. Really, people did that? “Years?” Ron said.

“What?” Steve asked.

Ron asked, “When, Steve, when did you lose your virginity.”

“Sixth grade, Al called me over waived a box of chocolate body paints she’d mail ordered and said we had to try them out, who was I to say no,” Steve couldn’t believe he was having this conversation with his father. He wasn’t prone to locker room talk but damn he was proud of the fact that he hadn’t panicked in the face of his best friend ordering him to get naked so she could lick chocolate off him. 

“You must never tell your mother this, understood?” Ron asked.

Steve nodded and said, “So, Bali?”

“No way in hell, son. Give her whatever she wants, but do not take her out of the country?” Ron said.

“Whatever she wants?” Steve was surprised because his dad rarely crossed his mother.

“Son, you find a woman like that, you hold onto her,” Ron said ruefully and left.

PRESENT

Auggie’s eyes burned. He didn’t need to keep them open but it was reflexive and after a time they were tired and burning just like they had been when they worked. He closed them, while still monitoring the braille interface. It creeped the kids out when he used computers without monitors but there was no reason to use them. Or any good reason to turn the light on in the room when he was working since he didn’t count Seth’s softly spoken ‘but we like the view’ as a good reason. 

God he was proud of that kid, and horrified by some of the things that he’d done in the name of the mission. If Seth survived this he’d make a damn fine agent someday. If any of them survived this. It helped that SHIELD had sent agents as recognizable as the Avengers. Al saying how do we know this SHIELD isn’t set up had put a spotlight on how vulnerable they would be making themselves by trusting them.

He hadn’t thought any of this through, coming here. He was just so bored and frustrated. When he’d been pulled from the field, he understood, he knew he was a liability. But he wasn’t useless, damn it. He hated feeling useless. He’d worked and gained new skills, upgraded and perfected the ones he’d had before but they’d pointed out how dangerous it was. As if it hadn’t always been dangerous. He was prepared to endanger himself but the kids, all of them; no he really had had no idea what he was getting into.

His plan and he could almost laugh out loud at the idea of it being a plan. He hadn’t bothered to use an alias or create a cover. He just applied for a teaching position. He knew he could get into their system once here and figured all he needed to do was pass information to his contacts. I good way to prove to them all he was still useful. He hadn’t counted on a few things. Like how crazy paranoid Larroquette was. Kind of hard to know which areas are monitored when you can’t spot cameras. Also everything in or out passed though security, they said to prevent intellectual property theft but every employee, dependent and visitor was watched from the moment they walked in the door.

Then there were the kids. K though 12 barley registered when he applied, the position was just a way in. Suddenly he had nearly two hundred kids in his classes. From six year olds who had to pee every five minutes to sixteen year olds with hormones squirting out there ears he was surrounded. He’d expected the little Lolittas batting thir eyelashes and leaning provocatively forward, he remembered high school and he knew he was attractive. He expected most would give up when they realized he couldn’t see their efforts. He hadn’t expected the number which would take it as a reason to initiate physical contact and brush up against him nor the fact that it wasn’t just the girls who would breathlessly ask for help with their homework. If he lived, he was never taking a teacher as a cover ever again. 

“Hulk to Hawkeye,” his com crackled.

“Hawkeye, here,” he said, once again smiling at the irony of the blind guy being called Hawkeye.

“We’ve rescued Zelda, when will the prince arrive?” Jason sounded embarrassed by the code. Auggie didn’t blame him. Children. They were all children, not just the little ones but all his Avengers. 

Al who vacillated in gleefully being proven right and that she had known all along this place was hell and then back to her pain that her father was the cause of so much suffering. 

Steve, trying to live up to a name he never wanted and the expectation of a father he’d barely known. 

Jason, so very alone, blaming himself despite his mother being the one who had brought both him and his sister here after her divorce. She had been one of the first examples made. She’d been dragged off because once she realized what was going on she’d refused to go back to her research. If Jason hadn’t already disappeared with the first children they’d smuggled to the safe haven he’d have been used to ensure her cooperation. As it was she thought her son was dead and she had nothing left to lose. 

And Seth, Jason had been simply broken after his mother’s death. Seth walked over. To the best of Auggie’s knowledge they hadn’t been friends, they’d become teammates once Jacque Larroquette lowered the boom and sequestered the children as warrant of their parents good behavior. Seth, who never initiated a conversation or physical contact, had stopped by the seated boy and ran his finger through his hair and according to Steve looked at him with such pity. Jason let lose, sobbing, burying his face in Seth’s stomach. Some minutes later, when his tears had lessened Seth had tilted Jason’s face up and wiped the tears with his hand and said softy, “I can’t make it better, but I’ll kill them for you.” And he had, his first kills. He slipped out late that night past the cameras into the guards’ quarters and slit the throats of the two who had dragged her off. After that Larroquette had upgraded security on the guard’s quarters. Auggie was pretty sure that move tipped off at least that Jason was an Avenger so getting him off site was a priority.

“Hold tight, Hulk. Back up is coming,” Auggie said while sending coded information on the children’s location to JARVIS.

PAST

He and Seth had been online most of the night. And Seth had slipped him a thumb drive the next day. It contained information on everything on what the kid had called the ‘spooky’ list something he and a classmate had compiled. Not just placements of cameras and locations of blind spots, unmonitored or lightly monitored access tunnels which was a godsend in itself but shipping manifest, warehouse inventories and names, at least the aliases of visitors going back almost three years. There was speculation on shell corporations, who buyers really were behind the bland companies they represented. Whoever helped Seth compile the information had the kind of access most agents could never have. Someone had been very thorough.

The last bit had been the best Jacque Larroquette’s most recent password, changed just yesterday. With that Auggie could get in and set some backdoors for later.

He booted up his laptop. He’d modified it so the interface took the place of the screen and he just operated it wide open, with no fear a student would see what he was working on. He was sitting in one of the inner court yards open to the sky. He had a modified satellite uplink masquerading as a wi-fi connection. And thanks to Seth’s information he was out of visual site of the cameras. He wasn’t too proud to admit he was over his head. He was going to dump everything he’d found out with Joan at the CIA, an old hacker friend who was unaffiliated, and with the artificial intelligence who worked for Tony Stark. JARVIS had actually lectured at one of the seminars he’d attended about a year ago and he’d stayed after to ask some questions. Between the two of them JARVIS and Stark, if Auggie had to count on one for back up he’d chose JARVIS.

“Mr. Anderson,” a breathy voice interrupted just as he hit send. Maddie Cooper shouldn’t even be taking his class she had opted out of computer science two years ago and added his class right after he started. She was always hopelessly lost. He felt her breast brush against his shoulder and wanted to hit his head against the table his computer rested on. Repeatedly. “I’m having a little trouble with my program.”

“That’s understandable Madeline, I’ve recommended before that you drop back to one of the other sections and give yourself time to catch up,” Auggie said.

“With the children? Oh, no, Mr. Anderson I’m sure I can catch on –“ She started.

The way she said children implied it hadn’t been her two years ago. “Madeline, all your life there will be people who know more than you and people who know less than you. No one is born knowing anything, we all learn it. Not always in the same way, at the same time or at the same pace. Its only now while you’re very young that you measure it by age. I was the oldest one in many of my classes because I was going back to relearn skills or learn new ones. I would feel better if you got the basic, rather than try to play catch up and miss some important lessons,” He said, noting if nothing else she had stopped rubbing up against him.

“I’m not missing anything, really,” she said.

“Why don’t you have your mother give me a call and we’ll see about getting you more appropriately placed,” He said.

 

PRESENT - Iron Man

The shit was well and truly hitting the fan. She heard the crack of automatic weapons. Either the morons were firing at shadows or their back up had put in an appearance. 

The one thing that there wasn’t - was water. There should be water. She knew her math she knew pressure. She started the flow into several sealed rooms and those doors and walls should be bursting. Damn it, there was that idiot Tony Stark standing on the ground, freaking posing in that stupid fist to the ground palm out gesture. Did he not listen, Auggie specifically told all of them not to be on the ground of the lower levels. There was a reason they had evacuated the kids. If the water hit he was fried, unless that stupid suit of his could protect him, well she wasn’t going to worry about him he was a big boy, he had been warned if he chose to disregard common sense it wouldn’t be her fault he got cooked in that tin can.

She was currently scaling a hidden access ladder. She’d removed it from the base specs two years ago and no one had noticed. Deep underground, it was sheltered by a newer construction so she was concealed from sight and flying bullets by the other concrete structure. The newer construction went up another forty feet so she was pretty sure no one would notice when she made the top. Holy shit there was a guy up there with a bow.

Okay the real Avengers were here, Iron Man should have given that away but he was kind of a loose cannon, huh, no wonder they wouldn’t let her be Thor. Their Hawkeye was way better looking and almost as buff. Okay computers did not give you those kind of arms. Not that she was looking, she had a boyfriend. She really wished she had her com because now, now would be a great time to talk to Steve. She pulled out a utility knife and cut cords covering the tarp she had used to stash some stuff behind a large dehumidifier, huh irony. Once it was uncovered she pried open a long crate and then began sorting through the smaller crates looking for ordnances. 

She set up the tripod and affixed the launcher. She probably should have read the directions before now. Skimming through them she tossed it aside. Really she was aiming for a wall less than a hundred feet away and it covered the whole side of the underground cavern and that was practically the size of a football field. Like she could miss; shoving the ordinance in she fired. 

The missile blasted forth and hit the wall on the far right bottom corner – so it wasn’t centered, it wasn’t like she was being graded. Water burst forth like a dam breaking. Instantly it rushed across the cavern. There was the whoosh crackle of electricity and she felt her hair move with the static. Finally! Okay, there was water, there was electricity; her job here was done; time to head back and evac Auggie. 

As she turned to head back to the ladder, there was a guard just cresting the roof. Shit. An arrow appeared in his neck. Gross. She looked up and the archer, gave little bow. Just then, there was a flash behind him and he fell forward. Even though there was less than six feet between the constructs he wouldn’t make it to her roof and would land below in the now deadly water. Steve was going to kill her. She ran jumped and hit the archer on the side of his chest as he’d turned in midair sending them both crashing a floor down on the construct he had chosen as his vantage point. Thank god they had no windows just open levels like a parking garage. Of course they still landed on concrete and rolled. This boy was no light weight; she saw stars when her head bounced off the floor and lay very still because throwing up would be much badness. 

She heard voices, arguing or snarking, whatever they were they were too damn loud. Someone was leaning over her when she opened her eyes. He was blurry and his face seemed to be surrounded by a helmet of some sort as he came in to focus she reached up to touch him and see if he was really. “Steve? Oh, god, how long was I unconscious. Baby, you got old.”

Someone barked out a laugh and Steve looked deeply offended and sputtered, “I’m not old.”

“Stud, what did they do to you, you’re like, geriatric,” she cried.

“Oh, man Tony this is priceless,” the archer said.

“Is that a camera phone? Are you recording this? I will end you Barton, did you never see ‘The Net’,” Old Steve hiss, sounding just like he did when someone dissed his mother. 

“It’s okay,” she said patting his hairy, wrinkled face, “I still love you, but you know, no more sex cause at your age you could break something.”

“She’s obviously delusional we have to get her back to the heliocarrier,” Old Steve barked at the now howling archer.

“No,” she said rubbing the back of her head. “I have to save Hawkeye, can’t leave him here.”

“I’m fine pretty girl,” the archer said.

“Not you, dumbass, our Hawkeye,” Al’s head hurt, it hurt to breath and her hip was throbbing, she wasn’t’ sure she could stand. “flood the cavern, fry the guards, go get Hawkeye, and meet up with Widow and Cap. That’s the plan. Cap gets cranky when I don’t follow the plan.” 

The archer didn’t seem to mind the dumbass comment. He removed something from his ear and put it in hers, which was kind of gross. The com crackled. “Hawkeye?” she whimpered, she was tired, scared and in pain and she was screwing up the plan. 

“Iron Man!” he sounded elated. 

“She’s Iron Man!” Old Steve exclaimed. 

Just as her Steve, roared over the com, “Jesus Christ, where have you been? Status and location, now.”

She felt tears slide down towards her ears from her eyes and her vision was darkening on the edges, the world seemed tilty. “I’m sorry. I fried my com.” Breathing hurt and she struggled to finish, “I’m not sure of my location. I blew the wall the waters rising. I can’t –“ her voice broke and oh, God she was crying on an open channel how pathetic was that. “I can’t evac, Hawkeye, I don’t think I can make the rendez-”

Present – Captain America

The com went silent. Steve whirled around looking for something to hit. They had made their way to psi site and were waiting for Seth. Call me Natasha looked tense like she thought Steve might be dumb enough to throw a punch at her. At the real Cap maybe but he had better survival instincts than to even think of striking her or being more realistic, trying to strike her. 

Out of the shadow and over the com, Seth calmly said, “Copy Iron Man, this is Widow, I’ll evac Hawkeye. Can you get somewhere safe?”

“This is Iron Man,” A masculine voice answered. “Hawkeye and I have her. The lower levels are secure, actually they’re mostly submerged and I can’t believe the circuits haven’t blown and shut off the electricity but it’s all still live. Seriously with a body like this you call her Iron Man and you have a male Widow?”

Captain America took a breath, perhaps to admonish Iron Man regarding what was and was not appropriate conversations on com. But he stopped as Seth slithered out of the shadows, long legs ending in red pumps and the short tight dress which barley coved his tackle. 

Seth all but purred over the com, “Yeah, she wanted to be Thor, God of property damage, but Cap has a weakness for Iron Man you know? Surely you’ve read the fan fiction?” Seth offered the blushing Captain America his Mona Lisa smile as Iron Man sputtered in response. 

“This is Hawkeye,” Auggie’s voice came on. “Let’s keep it professional people. Cap, Widow, er the local versions. Get out, I have confirmation, the Hulk and his packages are officially off site in care of our allies. Thor, yes, the one and only, has left in pursuit of three choppers, all heavily armed and with stealth technology. After you evac your counterpart you might want to follow, Iron Man. Looks like we didn’t have a complete inventory of what they were hiding. Captain? Er, the original addition if you and the real Widow can make your way up three levels there are cells where most of the employees are being housed and start evac-ing them. We got the kids out but the parents,” he trailed off, well aware that both Steve and Seth were listening. “We couldn’t be sure which parents were complicit or likely to compromise the escape plan. Agents are securing sectors Alpha through Chi, boys I want you to head for Gamma for pick up that will take you to the others.”

Steve turned an incredulous look on Seth but before he could squawk in outrage at being marginalized before the base was secure Seth, said, “Sorry Hawkeye, you’re breaking up. Don’t bother to repeat, I’m on my way, you can tell me then. Widow out.”

Seth turned but before he could slip back into the shadows a tiny deadly redhead stood blocking his way. Natasha lifted an eyebrow and Seth returned an enigmatic smile. Steve prayed they didn’t throw down because Seth would be toast.

Captain America said, “Agent Anderson is right, this place isn’t safe for civilians-“

Steve cut him off, because a spanglely suit and shiny shield meant jack in here. He wasn’t Captain America he was Steve Rogers, who could calm Jason’s incessant bitching, make Al stop and think and had on one memorable occasion prevented Seth from slitting Seth’s own father’s throat. “Seth, get Auggie to the Gamma site. SHEILD will need to provide its own eyes. Captain, Widow, you’re with me,” He said and left, heading a brisk pace toward the empty elevator shaft they used to climb between floors when evading sweeps. 

He could hear at least the Captain following him partly because of his boot heels and partly because he started with, “Son-” like Steve didn’t have enough adult role models who were disappointed in him.

“I’m not your son, Captain,” he said and opened the jammed doors by hitting a hidden switch Al had rigged. He closed his eyes when he stepped into the darkened shaft, partly to let them adjust to the light change and partly to say a prayer that Al was okay. “Where’s the Widow?” he asked when he turned back and saw only the outline of Captain American, “And close the door.”

“She went with Seth-“ Captain American said.

“Oh, that’s going to go well,” Steve muttered and gestured for him to take hold of the loops hanging from the cable as he fitted a foot into one and held another. “Ready?” and at Cap’s nod hit a switch that started the cable moving at elevator speed.

Captain American looked around and asked, “How do you stop it?”

“Well, first you jump off, and then, if you live, you hit another button,” Steve said eyeing the cracks of light and counting floors.

“You really should stay behind,” He started again.

“Yeah, no. See these people have watched their kids beaten, starved and in some cases raped. They have had the same things done to them; they’ve been helpless to stop it from happening to themselves, their spouses, and their children. And they’re blaming themselves. Maybe they just trusted the wrong people. Maybe they were blinded by ambition or greed or any of a thousand other things. But even if they walked in willingly, they didn’t get full disclosure. None of them, even the bad guys, ever believed that they were expendable. And you just don’t walk into that and say you’re here to save the day. They’re going to mad and scared and looking to strike out,” he sighed. “At least I’m a familiar face. And I’ve been going through it right along with them. I don’t have super powers, Cap. This is what I do. This is what I’m good at.” Steve said and jumped. He was sure the super soldier could keep up. And was proved right when he heard Cap land softly behind him as he checked a mirror through the peephole to make sure the coast was clear.

The guard room was empty. Given the chaos showing on the monitors that was to be expected, fifty screens cycled through multiple views. The flooded lower levels still sending sparks and as the water slowly rose and a number of bodies bobbed among the flotsam. He had to give it to her his girl knew her electricity. They’d probably have to shut down the power plant to cut the current to that. Bodies, mostly in guard uniforms were scattered here and there, most were shot with bullets but a few sported arrows and one or two lay in a pool of their own blood with their necks cut. 

Steve sat at the terminal and began to disengage the locks on the doors. “We can’t take them the way we came. See if SHIELD has a spot in mind for pick up.”

While Cap commed his backup. Steve moved down the corridor, opening the doors and admonishing the adults to, “Stay quiet, stay together, do not make trouble or the man at the end of the hall will knock you unconscious and leave you here.”

“Steve,” his dad said, and cupped his face in both hand. And, wow his dad wasn’t dead. He kind of expected him to be. “Thank God,” his dad continued and hugged him tight. And his mind shut down, because sure his mom hugged him all the time, but his dad, not well, not since he was real little and hadn’t learned not to initiate affection. It’s not like his dad pushed him away, because they both had a health fear of his mom but Steve had learned by five that men just awkwardly shook hands or slapped backs or tussled hair and if you wanted a hug or kiss you went to mom. 

“I thought you were dead,” they both said at the same time. Most of the adults had moved past and were being corralled by a couple SHIELD agents who had appeared out of nowhere. Captain American was standing awkwardly a few feet away attempting not to intrude. 

“Captain, I’d like you to meet the man who gave me your name,” Steve said, “Ron Rogers, Captain American.”

And his dad just stared like a fangirl, or not, because he looked a little scared too. “The Avengers are really here?” his dad asked looking around as if finally noticing the SHIELD agents and moving crowd. Steve really looked at his dad, partly to assure himself he was indeed alive and partly to see if he could figure what was up, well, besides a raging case of PTSD which really wasn’t post yet. His dad looked, old. He’d always had about ten or fifteen years on other parents but now it was showing. He seemed frail and Steve had the urge to plant himself between his dad and Captain American for some reason. His dad finally responded, “That was actually his mother’s idea.”

“She said the same thing about you,” Steve interjected.

“Mr. Rogers,” Captain American said. “We’ve got medical attention waiting off site and I’m sure the rest of the parents are anxious to be reunited with their children.”

His dad looked around the milling crowd, “Steve, I haven’t seen your mother.”

“Oh, yeah. I think she’s okay. Probably madder than a wet cat, but alive,” Steve said. “She got a last minute approval for that trip to Vienna she requested. Funny thing though, um, she kind of ended up in a small town about a hundred and fifty miles from Calcutta, with no money and no ID.” At his father’s incredulous look he added, “Al figured they’d never find her there.” His father said nothing. “Yeah, it makes a lot more sense if there’s a naked brunette pitching the plan.”

Captain American cleared his throat and looked away and muttered, “We, er, SHIELD can send someone for her.”

They started to make their way out with the crowd.

PRESENT – Black Widow

The boy either knew the way very well or had unusually good, perhaps enhanced, night vision. Probably the former but one could not discount the latter with mutants becoming more prevalent. He walked slightly ahead of her, in a softly swaying ground eating pace that only seemed unhurried. His blond hair was about the same length as hers. He was carrying at least two blades in addition to the straight razor secured to his left wrist with a hair scrunchy. 

The lighting was changing from dim to non-existent and his steps never faltered. She trailed her left hand against the wall and tried to step where she’d heard him step. Not an easy feat because his legs were much longer, but then she wasn’t wearing four inch heels. He opened a random seeming door and closed it behind them, took them down another corridor and just as she was beginning to think he might be walking her in circles in the dark, she heard the sound of a faint clacking. 

The dark was pitch black like a cave, if not for her training she would be starting at imagined shapes by now. 

“Anything you want to take with you?” the boy asked and the clacking stopped. 

“Seth you were supposed to evac,” Agent Anderson sounded tired and exasperated, but not at all surprised. 

She could hear the sound of movement, unplugging of electronics and material brushing against something.

Deciding this wasn’t a test and that the blind man probably didn’t know that the boy had left the lights off as they came in, she asked, “Is there light?”

“Switch is at the door,” Anderson said. Since she’d stopped at the door when the boy had continued over to the clacking she moved her hand where a switch would be and the room lit up. Very tidy, no windows computers scattered and in parts only two monitors over to the side. Probably for the children. 

Speaking of the children the boy had stepped out of his heels and she looked over just in time to see him lift the clinging jersey dress over his head leaving him naked but for an athletic support. He wasn’t as bony as she thought he’d be. He was built like a swimmer or a gymnast. Strength with flexibility, fluidity she upped her threat assessment of him. This was the team hitter. He had the highest body count next to the girl, who had flash fried anything meat in the lower levels. And he’d done all his work up close, looked his victims, no targets, in the eyes. 

She watched him load a duffle with a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, a hoody, no underwear, but tossed in a Taser, a couple clips and a few blades. He pulled a set of dark gray coverall out of a drawer and stepped into them, before loading a clip into a gun and slipping in in a hip pocket. He stepped into a pair of black sneakers with Velcro fittings. 

“Seth if you don’t take those shoes with you Jason will be very disappointed,” Anderson said.

The enigmatic smile was back and the boy said, “I will be too, you have no idea how hard it is to find size 14 pumps.” The shoes and dress joined the rest of it and the bag was slung over his shoulder. He wet a cloth at a water cooler, wiped his face, roughly mushed his hair with the wet cloth and now looked like a skinny boy not a femme fatale. 

“At the risk of bringing up my misspent youth, I actually might,” Anderson said as he slung his shoulder bag he’d loaded a laptop into over his shoulder and unfolded his cane. 

The boy stopped in front of Anderson and turned his back on him letting him rest one hand on the boy’s shoulder before leading him out. “Seth?” Anderson said as they left the area the light from the room covered. “Are you using a flashlight?”

“I thought it more prudent-” he started

“Yeah, she is not after your job, use the halogen,” Anderson ordered. And light blossomed illuminating a small area it was kept low and pointed at the floor as they retrace the many corridors back. 

The boy said nothing but Anderson offered the information she expected the boy to ask for, “Al is in medical, stable, couple of cracked ribs, concussion and a broken hip, oh and she barfed on Tony Stark. An Agent Barton forwarded a video file with instructions to keep it away from JARVIS because Stark doesn’t want anyone to see it. So in-flight movie on our way out. Jason wants to adopt Stewie Cooper, there’s a story there but he hasn’t shared. Steve’s dad isn’t as dead as we thought and er, SHIELD may be retrieving his mom. Apparently Captain American has no sense of humor about dumping dames in foreign countries with no money or ID.”

“To be fair, Captain American hasn’t yet met Mrs. Rogers,” Seth offered softly and they walked in silence for a while. 

“This isn’t the same way,” The Widow said. The corridor was just as dark but the other had been about six feet across with turns and doorways like an office complex, this had high ceilings, was long and straight and wide enough for two cars to pass each other.

“We left from Psi, this will bring us out near Delta, I don’t want us out in the open any more than we have to be,” Seth said. He didn’t want Anderson exposed and vulnerable and didn’t want to seem like he thought his teacher needed protection, the Widow amended in her head. 

The mission was still on and Natasha never permitted her mind to wander during a mission but while she scanned the darkness and listen for danger, she revised the opinion she’d formed from their briefing. She hung back further so she could cover them and to take advantage of the darkness. They had no intell on the children. Anderson’s file had been impressive as both a Ranger and an Operative. They thought he was running this op that he’d recruited and trained the children as assets. But he hadn’t been here long enough to do half of what she and the others had seen. Secure and power the hideaways, stash supplies, gather the information not in the computers, set up and shut down access to areas. The kids had started it and pulled him in. Despite herself she found the boy impressive; in ten years he just might take over her title. 

“Stop right there,” The man ahead just at the edge of the light didn’t look used to holding a rifle; especially an automatic rifle. He’d let them get too close, gave no appearance of even knowing she’d hung back and seemed to be shaking with rage. 

“I should have killed you a long time ago,” the man and the boy said in eerie synchronization. The boy slide to the left and the man kept the gun trained on him, discounting the blind teacher as a threat and showing no awareness she was even there. The boy, Seth, he should really be Seth by now, kept moving left toward the closer wall, dragging the man’s attention away from all the darkness to the right which Natasha silently slipped though, hoping she could get behind him in time. 

Anderson struck like a cobra and the crackle of the man’s neck snapping was still sounding when he hit the ground. The agent breathed out slowly. He’d dropped his can in that move, so he grope/shuffled toward where the boy stood. With the hands he just killed with he pulled the silent stone faced child to him. She barely heard the boy say, “I would have killed him.”

Anderson replied, “I know you could have, but you shouldn’t” and his voice broke, “You shouldn’t have to.” 

The boy didn’t cry but he buried his face against tall man’s chest and a shudder passed through them both. Just as Natasha was growing uncomfortable Seth said, “Let’s get out of here.”

 

PRESENT– Hulk

Jason had Donna on one hip and Stewie on the other. A counselor, who had to have more training than Mrs. Rogers had wanted him to talk about his trauma, so he gave her Maddie because she was a mess before this all started. Stewie was asleep and drooling on him and Donna was prattling away, about what he didn’t know, she wasn’t perforated or bleeding so it could probably wait. SHIELD personnel sucked ass. No one had given him an update since Auggie went off-com and if one more adult called him son, so help him God, he was tossing a kid at them. 

Al was in surgery for Christsake and Steve wasn’t here, not that he was next of kin but he had some weird hoodoo where he just took charge on occasion which was outrageous since every single one of them including Al could wipe the floor with his skinny ass. Jason had meandered, as stealthy as a six foot two guy with two kids attached to him could to the infirmary and was loitering outside the operating theater when a big one-eyed black man barked “What are you doing here?” This woke Stewie. Smooth move, Asshat.

“Checking on Larroquette,” Jason said. “Way to wake the prepube. You want to take him? He’s a biter.”

The guy actually raised both hands to stop the handoff. Smart man, except for the barking at sleeping kids move. “Where’s Maddie,” Stewie asked.

“Getting her head, shrunk.” He groused. “Hey, Dread Pirate Roberts, here’s an idea. Can we feed these kids?” Jason asked.

“No beans!” Donna shouted and glared at the one-eyed man.

“I want ice cream,” Stewie said.

“I want my mom,” eleven year old Heather McCutchen said from the spot on the floor she’d curled up on. She was cradling the new cast on her arm, probably waiting to be escorted back to the none injured evacuees. Dr. Banner had said it was broken, Jason had just thought she was a whiner.

“I want to know how the rest of my team are,” Jason added with a glare, because if they were planning to overwhelm the adult who looked like he hadn’t spent any time with kids since he was one he was going to pile on with the rest of them.

“I want to know what’s wrong with my dad.” Jason whirled at the sound of his voice, he never thought he’d be so happy to see Steve. 

“I thought your dad was dead?” Jason asked. 

“Turns out, not so much, but he collapsed on the way here and-,” Steve stopped, back to being a scared kid and not the guy who could get it done, but it was his dad so, Jason got that.

Captain freaking America, shield, and red white and blue costume even came up and said, “They say its internal bleeding, apparently he was worked over pretty severely and lost a lot of blood.”

“He can have mine,” Steve bleated, and this on top of Al, Jason planned to cut him a break even if he started sobbing. 

“No he can’t,” a snarky voice interrupted, “He’s O neg, you’re A positive.” And Tony Stark looked a lot dirtier then in his publicity photos. He was followed by some creepy bodyguard guy in sleeveless Kevlar. 

Steve didn’t seem up to being bitchy and snarky so Jason decided to lend his talents. “It’s in no way creepy that you know that. You monitor the bodily fluids of many sixteen year old boys or is Steve special.”

“Steve is very special,” Stark said and started to step forward so Jason handed off Stewie to him. It felt pretty good making a billionaire gape and look at the kid in his arms like it might explode. 

He then handed Donna to Steve and said, “Don’t worry, Donna might pee on you but she isn’t a biter.” He looked at Stark and said, “He, on the other hand, you will need stiches if you piss him off.”

He leaned into the angry one-eyed man and said, “Where are Seth and Auggie?”

“There was an incident,” the man said, like that told him anything or would calm him down in any way. 

Jason gritted his teeth and said, “You have over fifty kids under three feet tall on this ark and I will tell them you’re the man who killed Santa Claus if you do not cut the cryptic spy shit and-”

“Hulk, stand down!” and if anyone other than Mr. Anderson had called that out across the medical wing he wouldn’t have stopped. But he whirled again and saw them across the med bay. Seth tucked under Auggie’s arm. You never held on to Mr. Anderson, you let him take your arm or shoulder but Seth looked, fragile. Seth never looked fragile. 

Jason approached slowly and stopped at arm’s length because if Seth was feeling vulnerable he just might lash out and the kid had moves. Slowly, so Seth could stop him if he wanted to, without, you know, breaking his arm or putting out an eye, he reached over and cupped Seth’s cheek in the palm of his hand. Seth kind of leaned into the touch which let Jason know it was safe to pull him into his arms and away from Mr. Anderson. 

It was the redhead who entered with them who said, “We were waylaid on our way back.” She seemed to have been given instructions on the guiding and care of Auggie because she stepped up and he rested his hand on her shoulder, before she began walking him around some of the machines and stuff between where they were and where the rest of the group was outside the operating theater. 

As he and Seth made their way over, Jason heard Auggie murmur to Steve that Seth’s dad was dead. The tightening of Seth’s arms told him Seth heard it too. Keeping his arm around him, Jason guided him to a nearby seating area and claimed a small couch for them. Once seated, he murmured, “I can’t make it better. I can’t even kill him for you but I can hold on. If you let me, I’ll never let go.”

Looking up he glared at Stark, his bull shit detector just told him that the man was about to say something stupid, “Stewie, he says something to hurt Seth, you bite him. There’s chocolate in it for you.”

“I can buy more chocolate than him,” Stark said. Stewie just looked at him suspiciously, swinging his foot perilously close to Stark’s groin. 

“Dude, you are a creepy old guy, with a porn star ‘stash, holding a kid - not your own -and offering him candy, do you not have people who follow you around and prevent these situations,” Jason said, and felt Seth shaking. He was pretty sure he was laughing because nothing made bad stuff better than tormenting someone else. 

The quiet guy who had entered with Stark but just perched in the back ground was shaking too but he gasped out to the one-eyed man, “Please sir, tell me we have that on the security feed. I have a list of people who need a copy of it.”

“Barton, I will end you,” Stark turn and thrust Stewie at him.

Barton just took him and said, “Hi, Stewie, why don’t you, me and Donna go get some ice cream and see if we can find your sister.”

Seth’s head settled on Jason’s shoulder and he sighed and said softly, “I didn’t kill him.

Jason didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t know if Seth regretted not killing him or was relieved. So he turned his head and kissed Seth’s hair.

Steve squatted in front of them and reached over and placed his hand over the one of Seth’s that was on Jason’s knee. Jason felt him squeeze and then just leave it there. He had that awkward look all guys get when there is pain and it doesn’t involve physical injury.

“How’s Al?” Seth asked.

“Cracked ribs, concussion, they’re gluing her hip or something right now,” Steve said.

“That’s probably for the best,” Jason said, “guess you wouldn’t want any metal in her with her habit of electrocuting people.”

“And those ribs didn’t puncture a lung,” Seth added. “So she’ll be able to yell at us, once she’s conscious.”

“Groovy,” all three of them said together.

Stark said, “Fury, I need to speak with Dr. Rogers, before he goes in to surgery.”

“No, you don’t,” Steve turn and rose in one smooth move and got right in Stark’s face. “You want to, and you’re a spoiled brat so you’re used to people treating your wants as needs. But my dad NEEDS to have surgery right now. And if you and whatever petty problem you have end his life you will spend the rest of yours looking over your shoulder and no amount of money or tech will keep me from you.”

“He’s not your father,” Tony said.

“I’m a brown eyed, brunet with blond haired, blue eyed parents and you think this is news?” Steve asked. “Genetics do not make a father. Look at you. You’re a world famous slut. You probably have spawn from one end of the globe to the other. Your lawyers, your people, they only find the ones who come forward looking for something. How many of the others just don’t bother? None of that makes you a dad.”

“You think I’m your father?” Tony said.

“No, I really don’t,” Steve said. “I think you probably knocked up my mom, but that doesn’t make you my dad. That man going into surgery is my dad. He was there. Do you get that? He. Was. There. Giving me time out for breaking rules, helping me with homework or nagging me about grades or what classes I wanted to take. Having awkward talks about sex or girls or why I can’t let mom know I’m having sex. I didn’t always like it. Sometimes I hated him. But that, that’s part of being a dad too, you have to be willing to not be the fun guy and have your kid mad at you and still be there the next day and the next.”

Tony rubbed his eyes and took a deep breath looked Steve straight in the eye and said “You’re not my son, you’re me.”

Steve, actually both Steves just looked at him like he was crazy.

Jason said, “You really did a lot of drugs in the ‘80s, huh? So this whole Tony Stark is a genius is some kind of smoke screen right?”

“Steve, you’re a clone,” Tony said.

“Bullshit,” Steve said. “It’s impossible. My dad is a geneticist I would know if that could be done.”

“Think about that statement,” Tony said.

Seth was up in one of those deadly graceful moves of his and was between them, right in Stark’s face, “Get out,” his voice held no inflection and he sounded calm and sure. Stark took a breath to reply but Seth said, “Go now. I don’t care where but not here. Steve, Fury here is going to take you to Al, you stay with her. Jason and I will let you know as soon as there is any word on you father.” 

Fury, oddly, complied. 

“If you follow him, if you make this any harder on him I will remove your testicles and feed them to you before you die,” Seth said. 

When Stark looked like he was going to say something to that Jason stood up and showed off his powerful looming skills and added, “You just had to do this now. You really are an ass.”

Captain America dragged Stark off and only the Widow remained. She found Auggie a seat and brought him coffee. She hung around without seeming to be guarding and Jason wondered if Anderson even knew she was still there. But he had those freaky ninja skills so maybe he did. He and Seth had resettled on the couch, Seth plastered against him drowsy but unable to doze due to all the adrenaline. 

“I should have said this before now,” Auggie started. “But I was afraid if I did you’d think it meant we were going to die.” Jason had always liked his gallows’ humor; it was right up there with his endless blind jokes. “I’m so proud of you. The way you hold it together. The way when it becomes too much you step up to watch each other’s backs and rely on each other’s strengths and support each other’s weakness. It has truly been an honor to be on your team.”

He’d put that wistful smile back on Seth so Jason offered, “Yeah, you’re our favorite adult; you work with us and don’t try and take over. So if you ever want to overthrow a megalomaniac again, give us a call.”

“I think,” The Widow offered, “that Agent Anderson, may be getting a team of his own soon, and going back to the work he did before he was your teacher.”

Auggie looked surprised but it sounded like a firm job offer. Jason hoped it was with SHIELD and not that ass Stark.

 

PRESENT - Hawkeye

His sniper glare was enough to keep Maddie and her teenage hormones at bay. Clint had corralled the kids into a tiny break room and raided someone Chunky Monkey of dubious age for Donna and Stewie only to be joined by the sister, who had required seven stitches to close her little brother’s bite. Stewie was a corker, he didn’t talk much but the suspicious look he level his sister with and the way he pulled his bowl close and barricaded it with the arm he wasn’t feeding himself with was a riot. Donna managed to eat daintily and messily. Her effort to brush off dribbles smearing chocolate everywhere. He was wondering if there was anywhere he could lay down a tarp and just hose them off. He certainly wasn’t carrying little Miss. Peyton anywhere. The big kid had been upfront about Stewie being a biter so Donna probably did have bladder control issues. 

By the time they were finishing up, and why did little kids take so long to eat a scoop of ice cream, it now was ice cream soup. He was thinking of ditching them with Stewie’s sister, and going to check on Nat. He could understand her avoiding the kids, even if they weren’t sticky but he knew she wasn’t just hiding out, she was orbiting around the blind guy. Maybe no one else could read Natasha but she found the blind guy intriguing and she hadn’t batted an eyelash when reading his impressive dossier. That meant something had happened on the mission, it was time for sharing. 

When Mrs. Peyton showed up he excused himself from babysitting duty. Clint took a roundabout way back to the infirmary, using catwalks and slipping from one high vantage point to another. Thor and Tony had lost the choppers they were too tiny and too well concealed for even Tony’s tech to spot so Larroquette the elder was at large, pissed off and dangerous. Larroquette, the younger was sleeping off the pain meds from her operation and he lingered outside the door watching. The kid that looked so much like Tony was sitting by her bed, one of her hands clasped in both of his while he softly sang, “none but the witch of the Westmoreland will make thee hale and sound.” 

He couldn’t get over the fact she’d dove, with no body armor, fifty feet in the air over deadly crackling water, betting that her hundred and ten pound body would have enough force to knock them both back on to high ground. Who did stuff like that? Well, other than Tony, who would make you listen to the math and how he knew it would work because he was smarter than everyone else. Clint moved on, giving them their specious privacy. 

He passed over Hill and Fury, but didn’t linger. He did overhear him mention he’d sent Thor to see if he could check out the lower levels, since he was pretty much immune to the high voltage still coursing through there. Fury wanted to move out and too many of the victims were afraid to stay with the local authorities and they had far too many kids like Stewie and Maddie who had no surviving parents. They’d leave a ground force to guard against anyone coming back, but the Director wanted all crying kids and grieving parents off his boat.

Skulking around the corner, he saw Steve in deep discussion with Tony. Yeah, multiple Steve Rogers was going to get old real fast. He didn’t want any part of whatever they were talking about so he passed by quietly and moved toward the infirmary. From across the Medical Wing he could see Nat was still lingering around the blind guy, the kids were there too and he could swear the skinny blond spot him the moment he skulked though the entrance. Skirting the perimeter he came upon Bruce, seated in an alcove, carefully not touching a sobbing woman. He wasn’t looking green but he couldn’t look more uncomfortable if he tried. He met Clint’s eye and was able to excuse himself and emerged from the sheltered nook. 

“How you doing, Doc?” Clint asked.

“It’s just so frustrating,” he said, doing that thing where he seemed to be hugging himself. 

“You want to smash?” Clint asked.

“I really do,” Bruce said. “She was holding out hope that her son was alive. He was ten, they took him in front of her, but… so many of the ones that were taken were rescued. The guards tried to quell the rumors of the escapes, and the number of the dead amount the guards, to crush the hope and reduce the chance of rebellion. The human spirit is… ever astounding. Tell me something good, Clint. Tell me something…, and he ended with a sigh, his head ducked down. 

Clint hadn’t even thought about how all this would affect their most spiritual teammate. “A sixteen year old girl jumped off of a fifty foot drop, over all that high voltage, broke her hip, cracked her ribs and gave herself a concussion, to save the life of a stranger, me.”

“Larroquette’s kid?” Bruce asked, probably recognizing the injuries.

“You’re the one who does all the meditating, got any insight on how a waste of flesh like him has a kid like that?” Clint asked. He could still see in his mind’s eye her run and jump right for the spot he would be at, not for the one he was in when she jumped. He’d been twisting, and he could have made the shot, but by the time the grappling arrow hit the line wouldn’t have kept him from the water. 

“How is she?” Bruce asked.

“Out like a light, Tony’s clone is with her,” Clint.

“I’m going to need some backstory on that,” Bruce said.

“Seriously? You missed all that? Apparently, one of the kiddy version of the Avengers, Captain America, no less. Is a clone of Tony,” Clint said.

“That’s impossible.” Bruce said. “What kind of proof does he have?”

“Aside from the fact that he is virtually a ‘mini me’ of Tony? I don’t know. Stark was cheesed off he couldn’t interrogate Dr. Rogers before his surgery. Any word on how that’s going?” Clint asked.

“Ronald Rogers? Clint, I take it back. The kid could be a clone. He did some work on the super solider serum, it was never published but I had access to it before my accident. If anyone could create a living viable clone and keep it alive to adulthood. It would be Dr. Rogers. I didn’t know he was one of the evacuees,” Bruce said and sat at a terminal. He began quickly tapping keys. “Shit, Clint, he’s coded twice on the table it doesn’t look good. He’s stable, for now. They’re closing. He should be moved to ICU in an hour or two.”

Clint looked over to the small waiting area and wondered how much to tell them. “Bruce, can we get a couple of rooms freed up near ICU. I don’t think those kids are going anywhere and his son is bound to be down. Maybe dump some cots in a storage room? 

Bruce started tapping away and after a few minutes, said “I reserved Rogers in care Unit 5, they want him heavy monitored, there is another care unit right across the hall, most of the equipment will be cleared out for other cases anyway, I’ll just have them leave a couple beds.”

“You can do that?” Clint asked.

“You get injured more than all the other Avengers combined and the medical staff is afraid of you, so, yeah, Fury gave me full medical credentials,” Bruce smiled.

“But you’re not a doctor, a licensed medical doctor.” Clint corrected.

“Which means I can’t practice medicine in the States, we’re not in the States, we’re on the heliocarrier.” Bruce said.

“That sound suspect,” Clint said.

“Get some sleep.” Bruce said with a soft tired smile. “Doctor’s orders.”

Clint wandered over and sidled up to Natasha. The blond was most assuredly armed. And from the way he was watching Clint possibly think about how to kill him.

“What’d you do with Stewie and Donna?” The big kid asked. And, apparently, he cared.

“Left them with Donna’s mom,” Clint said. “Stewie and Maddie’s parent’s didn’t make it.”

The kid grunted and said, “Knew about their mom, but Cooper’s a surprise he was a survivor.”

“Got a body?” the blond spoke, his eyes almost glowing like Stark’s arc reactor. “Because if you don’t, if what you’re really saying is he just wasn’t one of the ones evacuated – he may be on one of those chopper’s you lost.”

“Know he thought highly of himself, but did Larroquette?” the big kid said. “It was pretty damn hard for anyone to remain valuable to him. And he’d have had limited seats.”

“Well, we know there was one seat empty,” a significant look was sent over at the blind man. “Maybe he got upgraded at the last minute.”

Clint noticed Natasha was now perched on the arm of the chair in which Anderson sat. It was the Romanov equivalent to cooing and petting his hair so he really wanted to find out what happened on the mission. 

“I checked on Dr. Rogers’ surgery,” he said. “Currently he’s stable but it’ll be a couple hours before he’s moved to recovery. He is still critical, but he is being and will be very closely monitored.” He didn’t add that SHIELD didn’t trust him and Tony would be spinning in circles until he could get full disclosure on how, why and every other question he could think of regarding the clone. “There’s an empty room across from ICU, grab some sleep-”

“We told Steve we’d be here. We’ll stay here until he’s moved.” It would probably another five or ten years before that kid, no matter what his size, could back up that glare, but Clint gave him props for trying. 

“Jason. Seth. You don’t have to sleep, but you might as well. We’re not doing Steve any good here. We’ll leave instructions to be advised of any change. This isn’t like a hospital, it doesn’t have HIPPA restrictions.” Anderson said. 

“You look pretty beat yourself, Auggie,” the blond murmured.

“What I want is a shower. But that’ll have to wait for me to file a report or two, maybe it’ll keep them from debriefing the four of you until after you’ve had some sleep,” He said.

“I can help you with that,” Natasha said. 

Clint blinked and attempted to maintain an unreadable face. Was she flirting? It wasn’t how she baited a honey trap this was Nat in all her awkward glory. And then the suicidal big kid, Jason, he deserved to be remembered after Nat killed him, said, “In case you’re wondering, he’s hoping you mean with the shower not the report.”

Anderson barked out a laugh and stood, he said, “Get some sleep, you survival instincts are slipping.”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” Jason said, “Seth’s here, he’ll protect me.”

Nat offered her arm to Anderson and lead him off, not toward an office or conference room, but toward the dorm like personal quarters agents would sign into when on the carrier. Clint stopped on the way to the barracks to find a uniform that would fit Anderson. He was longer in both legs and torso than him. He was suprised to run into Nat on the way back. She’d had dropped Anderson at Administration while getting a room assignment. Apparently he’d been writing reports the whole time he was undercover it was just a matter of removing the encryption and passing on a couple thumb drives. Everything was up to date as of twelve hours ago, but they still needed at least a preliminary report on the evac. Clint figured they could wait for the final details and let the guy grab some sleep. After all it wasn’t like he was on the payroll yet. He couldn’t help thinking how much Coulson would have liked this guy.

They were making tea in one of the break areas, when Jasper Sitwell stopped in the doorway. Sitwell was normally skittish around Clint since the whole Loki thing. Some people were real babies about being shot. But he must fear the Widow’s wrath more because he interrupted their close, quiet discussion to say, “You might want to sit in with Hill.”

“I was there I don’t to need to hear Anderson’s statement,” Natasha replied.

“She’s not taking a statement. I know we’re overcrowded with all these survivors but she had him dragged down to interrogation room E3 and ordered he be hooked up to a polygraph,” He stated.

“What the fuck, Jasper? He’s supposed to be an ally,” Clint asked, as Natasha took off.

Sitwell held up his hands and said, “Don’t shoot the messenger; she’s treating this as rouge CIA. You know if they don’t have a handler confirm or we can’t pull the mission from their system that’s by the book.”

“I gotta go, see if I can stop Tash from shoving the book up Hill’s ass,” Clint said and followed at a jog.

“Director?” He commed, and thought of Phil once telling him if it wasn’t your fuck up it was a good idea to keep the brass in the loop. “Did you authorize Hill to interrogate Anderson, because he just turned in a couple thumb drives with a shitload of information all organized and detailed. She can’t have accessed it yet let alone read it. Do we really want the kids who took down Jacque Larroquette deciding to blow this boat out of the sky because we roughed up their blind teacher?”

“Where and went, Barton,” Fury asked.

“Now, and IR E3,” He sighed, and added “I’m on my way but Widow has a head start.”

Knowing that the door the prisoners were brought in would be locked Clint came in to the observation room from another corridor. Natasha stood, very still beside Fury, who must have prevented her from entering the other room to possibly kill Hill.

Fury tuned to him as and said, “She’s just finishing up the baseline questions.”

“So you’re okay with this?” Clint asked.

“No, this wasn’t what I meant when I told her to make sure Anderson and his team were debriefed, but I’m interested in seeing how she interprets this,” Fury said and then glancing at Tasha added, “I’ll stop it if she gets out of hand.”

Tasha leaned forward and turned up the volume on the speaker. To hear Hill admonishing to only answer yes or no, from the infinitesimal look of satisfaction on Tasha’s face the last answer must have been derogatory to Hill. 

“You were injured in Tikret, correct,” Hill asked.

“Yes,” Anderson sounded board; if he was former CIA he probably had similar tests quarterly.

“That’s where you lost your eye sight?” she continued.

“No,” he said. The monitor showed no change.

“You didn’t lose it in Tikret?” She asked.

“Yes,” Anderson said.

“You were blinded when you returned home?” she asked.

“No,” Anderson said.

“Well, you are blind,” she said focusing on the monitors.

“No, I am not blind” He said, again there was no change in the monitor.

Hill stood up, waived her hand in front of his face then turned her back on him. For some reason this caused Natasha to grin and a chill ran down Clint’s spine. Anderson rolled his eyes and looked to the ceiling with a give me strength gesture. Clint knew the guy was blind and his Army medical file was correct. Hill would never have turned her back on him if she wasn’t sure he was. The drama of his gestures meant he knew they were both being observed and that his next statement was not for Hill but for whomever was watching.”

“I spent twelve months down in the farm, I did my SERE training at Fort Bragg and I have *four* mean-ass older brothers. You don't think I know how to lie well enough to beat that thing?” Auggie said just sounding tired and like he’d really wanted the shower she’d pulled him away from.

Hill turned and gaped at him. And then tried to cover as Fury hit the lights and the switch to change the mirror to two way glass, not that Anderson would see. He flipped the switch for the intercom. 

“Its standard operating procedure,” She started but Fury cut in.

“Have you read his, 350 page report?” Fury asked.

“When did he?” She started and again was cut off.

“He turned it as soon as administratively feasible, as per regulation. Once you’ve read it, I’m sure you can forward any questions to Agent Anderson and once he has recuperated he’ll be able to clear up your questions. However, since you haven’t read it, you currently have no starting point. Agent Romanov will escort our guest to the dorms,” Fury said.

Clint followed the two of them, a few steps behind, just listening as Anderson, surprisingly successfully, cajoled Natasha to giving him information on SHIELD and as he put it ‘what they did around here for fun’. 

Once back at the room, Natasha excused herself and said she’d bring back food. She arched a significant look at Clint which he interpreted to mean she was giving their guest privacy since he would probably need Clint’s assistance. Which was in no way awkward and he planned to get her back for it later.

After showing Anderson where he could put his bag, which he had thought held nothing but computers and drives, he saw the former ranger pull out the same small shaving kit he carried himself on missions. Well, here goes nothing, Clint thought and hooked both of his thumbs in the back of the waistband to his uniform pants, since SHIELD’s designers saw no reason for back pockets. Obviously they never had to wear the damn things. “Ah, I can help you,” he said.

“Shower?” Anderson asked, not bothering to hide his confusion.

Clint hadn’t realized before he said it, but his statement was pretty vague and the guy had just been dragged off by Maria ‘I have no people skills’ Hill, so maybe he would be expecting it to have to do with dealing with SHIELD or things like that. So he answered, “Yeah, I can help you shower.”

“Agent Barton, while I’m sure you’re a very attractive man, and if you knew me you’d know how out of character this statement is, but, not on the first date,” Anderson said, and he closed up his bag. Before Clint could protest that he hadn’t meant it like that. Anderson said, “Just show me the entrance, describe the bathroom and I’ll take care of showering, shaving and anything else I need to take care of in there.”

So, Clint had taken him to the doorless entry to the tiny bathroom alcove. Starting at the left side of the entrance where there was a small sink with about a square foot of counter space and continuing his descriptions clockwise around the room before wandering back to sit on the bed.

The nondescript dormlike room was similar to the one Nat had reset his programing in during the Loki debacle. The bathroom ran along the length of the room so the toilet and shower were out of sight but the sink and small counter Anderson had left his kit on were visible. Clint listened for crashing or banging, although if he did end up with an armful of wet, naked ex-CIA agent Nat might try another hard restart to his system. 

The toilet flushed, the shower started, all without incident and Clint passed the time wondering what it would be like to be blind. All his training couldn’t stop the full body shudder. He knew he was more than just a marksman. He’d always kept a low profile and observed from a distance but his virtually taking down SHIELD for Loki had upped his danger rating by his fellow agents. Other than Nat and Phil only Fury had ever thought of him as a strategist. It was one of the reasons he had been put in charge of security for the Tesseract. 

Having finished his shower, Anderson approached the sink with a towel wrapped around his waist. With sure and efficient hands he got out his razor, lathered up and started shaving. Despite himself Clint found himself getting up and going to watch.

“How do you do that?” he asked.

Anderson answered as he paused to rinse his razor, “Same as you, I just don’t watch myself do it. Just takes practice.”

Feeling awkward again as he watched Anderson finish up and then carefully blot his face dry with a hand towel Clint offered, “I got you some workout clothes to sleep in and a uniform. Do you need help getting dressed?” It took all his training not to wince when he heard himself ask that.

“Do not make me give you may lecture on ableism, Agent Barton. My students can tell you it’s not pretty and designed to make you feel about two feet tall,” Anderson said, while putting his personal effect neatly back in their carry case.

“Sorry, please call me Clint. I gotta ask, even at the risk of the dreaded lecture, what’s ableism?” Clint said. He was starting to like this guy’s sense of humor.

“It’s like racism but instead of thinking your race makes you better than others it you ability to do something that makes you better.” Anderson said.

“Like my uncanny marksmanship?” Clint asked.

Auggie laughed and said, “no and not your good looks and charm either. Like your ability to see, or your ability to hear, your ability to walk. If you went deaf would you like someone saying you could no longer shoot? I’m blind, a surprising number of airlines try to put me in a wheelchair, because obviously I need help getting to my connecting flight.”

Clint wanted to ask more, probably stupid questions but Nat came in carrying a canvas hamper and the smell of the food made his stomach growl.

Anderson took the sweat pants and tee shirt and went to change while he helped Nat unpack the food she’d requisitioned. If Anderson wasn’t quite out of site and Nat used her superior observation skills to keep track of Anderson’s ability to take care of himself Clint wasn’t going to rat her out, not when it had the potential to be such great black mail material later.

 

PRESENT

Iron Man

She’d woke a couple times but not really woken. She had vague memories, first of being pulled out of the anesthesia and again when they moved her from a gurney to a bed. This time, she came to blinking at a ceiling that looked low and needed a better treatment, it looked dirty. The sheets were a nightmare. Had they dumped her at a motel? Steve, God love him, was face down on folded arms at the side of her bed she wasn’t planning to wake him but a nurse came in and did any way. So she let loose on her, “Where am I? This is no medical facility, you couldn’t pass a health and safety inspection to save your life. Is that up to code? What do you wash this bedding in? Lye? I can feel the rash! I’ve probably contracted some flesh eating disease from you nasty polyester sheets. Is this a prison? I’m a minor! A rich minor. I want my affects; I have mother’s lawyers on speed dial.”

“Oh my God, she IS a girl me,” Said the creepy old version of Steve lounging in the doorway behind the one-eyed man.

“Take that back,” Steve barked, obviously still half asleep but standing and placing himself between her and the men.

At the same time the one-eyed guy said, “Miss Larroquette, please calm down. You’re not in prison. I’m sorry that the accommodations don’t meet your expectations but you required immediate medical attention.”

He then turned to Steve and said, “Your father is in recovery, I’m told he’s stable but still needs intensive care.”

“Steve?” she asked, because wasn’t his dad dead. His look spoke volumes about how close it was and could still be. She reached for him and he came back and sat down, she petted his hair and said, “Mostly dead, not all dead.” And was rewarded with a brave little toaster type smile. 

“Miss. Larroquette,” the man in charge said, “unfortunately we do not have your father in custody, he along with several others escaped.”

“Was Mr. Hawke with him?” She asked. She hadn’t agreed when Steve stopped Seth from ending him, but she’d supported him. She just felt he was going to be a big regret in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ kind of way.

“Auggie put him down,” Steve said. She valiantly refrained from saying ‘good’ because Steve just wasn’t in the ‘hey, my dad’s evil too club’. They might fight but Steve and his dad had a pretty good relationship despite Mama Rogers kind of undercutting it because she had to be both their favorite.

“You should go to him, baby,” she said. “So he doesn’t wake up and think he’s in prison or something.” She said. 

“I can take you to him,” the messy old guy said. There was some strapping blond loitering about outside the door and once Steve assured himself she’d be fine he followed them. 

“Not so fast, Ahab,” she stopped the one-eyed man. “I deliver enough information to lock him and a large number of his clients up, I transfer data, I personally take out over half his minions and *you* fumble the take down. Are you on his payroll, ‘cause if your next boneheaded move is to turn me and my crew over to Daddy Dearest, I’ll up his offer, and I won’t kill you, which you know once he gets what he wants from you he will. Just look at his record.”

Fury almost barked out a laugh, this skinny girl just insulted him, dressed him down, offered a bribe and threated him and she’d been conscious less than five minutes. 

“We lost him, I’m not proud of that. He had an escape plan you weren’t aware of, he will be found. SHIELD wants him, dead or alive, I would prefer dead just to avoid the paperwork.” Nick Fury shook his head. “I’m sorry for what you went though, I can promise we will see your safe until he is found-“

“Ah, no.” She held her hand palm out, “You will not. We just got out of prison. We’re not waking back in ‘for our own safety’.” she said, rolling her eyes. “I was serious about wanting to contact my mom’s lawyers. I need to take care of a few things before I can move assets into my own name. First and foremost, I want the Avengers emancipated.” Fury tried to cut in but she said, “My Avengers, dumbass. Well, obviously not Mr. Anderson, but if you try to lock him up, you and everyone else-”

“Miss. Larroquette, you just woke up. Please let the medics check you over, set up some physical therapy and I’ll have our legal team look into it,” Fury said.

“None of my people get thrown into the system. I have the assets to set them up. I need your word, ‘cause Seth can and will disappear if some shrink tries to normalize him,” Al said. “Jason has a dad, who if he shows up, not that he did for his dauther’s funeral but that could have been daddy intercepting the information. But if and only if Jason wants to have a relationship with him it’s on his terms. For that to happen he has to be emancipated,” she pushed.

“Miss. Larroquette,” Fury tried again.

“And sure Steve’s dad’s alive but his mother is a piece of work, don’t say that to him or he’ll squawk at you, and she was way too close to daddy, I want to be sure she has no legal way to drag him off, so help me,” she started.

“Miss. Larroquette,” Fury was starting to get angry. She knew she was pushing but felt he was right at the tipping point.

“And another thing,” she said.

“Hanson, get this woman a landline,” He barked before pivoting and storming out of the room.

Victory.

 

PRESENT – Widow

Steve had poke his head in and let them know Al was awake and conferencing with the director. He was going into sit with his dad, and had apparently grabbed a couple hours sleep face down on something judging from the creases still showing on his face. 

Jason was watching Seth a bit too closely. Jason never wanted to seem too clingy but no matter how much he gripped and growled about it the kid was born to be someone’s mom. He seemed to get on with Dr. Banner, which must mean the guy had the patience of a saint, because Jason never appeared to get on with anyone. He’d insult, shove and just generally bitch the whole time he was feeding you and making you tea or wrapping you in a blanket. The last was what was making Seth want to drive an elbow in to his rib cage because this damn boat was climate controlled he didn’t need a damn blanked and was even considering shimming out of the coverall. 

The only thing stopping him was the big lug currently attempting to all but swaddle him in a hospital blanket. While he admitted he was severely lacking in body consciousness Jason hadn’t lost his despite weeks of showering and changing in any place they could secure long enough, if anything Jason was more uncomfortable around nudity now than before. Probably because, given that out of all of them Jason was the most nurturing, he’d been the one to deal with a lot of the victims - especially the young ones. Seth could stop the assault, kill the rapist, but he was no good with the crying victims. If it wasn’t so horrific it would have been funny. Tiny broken girls curled up against thuglike Jason but were afraid to even let the scary lady near them. Once he changed out of the dress, few of the really young ones realized that the quiet kid, handing Jason gauze or threading the needles, so that Jason could stich up tears under Auggie’s supervision, was the same scary lady who had carried them into whatever bolt hole they were using. 

Despite the fact he’d been using sex to distract, bargain and manipulate various guards and a few prisoners Seth knew whatever was developing between them was different. He didn’t really know how to deal with Jason endearingly possessive concern. There was a big difference between eyeing Auggie’s ass during class and well, dating. Not that they were dating, but there was something oddly, for lack of a better word, wholesome, about Jason’s obvious interest in him. And he, despite his best efforts to divorce himself from the sexual aspect of using his body as he did was for lack of a better term, majorly fucked in the head. 

So, they were taking it slow. Dr. Banner had taken blood while Jason was off getting him tea and said he could do the first of the disease screenings. He wasn’t risking Jason. Hell, they may never have sex. He wasn’t sure Jason and he getting together hadn’t been some reaction to all the stress and he’d be damned if he’d spread his many issues to the guy who was perhaps the most well-adjusted of them all. He didn’t know if his oddly protective streak was a sign that he hadn’t turned into a complete sociopath or just his way of protecting the one good thing in his life, which in itself was pretty damn self-serving.

“Can I get you anything,” Jason asked.

Seth valiantly did not roll his eyes and said, “Check those drawers. See if there are scrubs or anything. It’s too hot to sleep in this.”

The drawers were empty so they went exploring, found what looked like standard gym wear. And a small shower, they watched each other’s backs while quickly cleaning up and changing just like they had for weeks and ended up in the same room. Seth eyed the second bed and wondered if they’d be able to sleep if he shoved it against the door. It wouldn’t really keep anyone else out but the noise and delay would be enough to wake them and give him time to go for the gun or one of the blades in his bag. 

Jason must have read the look differently because he said, “You okay with us sharing? I don’t want to pressure you but I’d sleep better if you were close.”

“No, it’s good, I was just wondering if we should barricade the door,” Seth said. If you couldn’t share you night terrors and insomnia with your team mates who could you share it with.

“Ah, maybe not, Steve’s across the hall and if he has news about his Dad or Al, we probably want him able to get in,” Jason said. 

Jason was back to looking at Seth like Seth might break and Seth was back to considering if he should just crack one of Jason’s ribs, just to get him to stop it. Probably not the best of ideas, so Seth just said, “Yeah, guess you right. Let’s take the one furthers from the door. You want the Taser or a blade?”

“You’re the only weapon I want to sleep with,” Jason said as he pushed the bed into the far corner of the small room. Then he appeared to think about it what he’d just said and amended, “I mean, I don’t need a weapon to feel safe if you’re-” He cut off and sighed, “Do you get any of what I’m trying to say?”

Seth pulled his straight razor from the bag and strapped it to his wrist with the scrunchy and pulled a second blade from the bag before prowling over to Jason. Placing the hand without the weapon in it right over the big heart of the boy who had been attempting to court him, if he were honest since he’d kicked Jake Allen in the head, he said, “I get it.” He pushed Jason back on to the bed, and placed himself between Jason and the door and secured the knife where the mattress met the bed’s frame. He finally started to relax thinking it convenient that neither of them wanted the lights out. 

 

PRESENT - IRON MAN

Tony had slipped into the ICU where Rogers was and perched quietly. Cap was lurking in the doorway, probably ready to pull him out by the ear if he upset the kid. He kept his mouth shut and himself busy by texting JARVIS but otherwise didn’t interrupt as his clone sat silent vigile over Dr. Rogers. Other than an initial glare the kid seemed content to ignore them. Tony split his time between having JARVIS provide school records on the kiddy Avengers and watching his clone.

“Steve,” his father gasps and comes awake as if from a nightmare.”

“Dad,” Steve said in a clear, controlled voice. “It’s okay. I’m here. You’re safe. Everything’s going to be fine.”

“You were right. About Intelligent Design,” His father seemed to be trying to sit up and his eyes were feverishly bright, “I was wrong. There is a plan, a reason for everything. If we can’t comprehend it, the flaw is not in God or Science but in our ability to see the big picture.”

“Er. Okay.” Steve looked like he’d agree to anything at this point. Tony had a feeling this was an old argument. Or the old guy was hallucinating because who talked about pseudoscience with their kid. “Please lie still, you just had surgery.”

“Steven this is important. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve ever told you. You matter. You. Not your intelligence or your DNA or its potential or how you started out. Who you are now? Your soul. That wasn’t engineered in a lab

“I know,” Steve said and seemed to relax now that his father wasn’t struggling.

“Stark,” he gasped. 

Tony stood and approached the bed. He’d planned to hang back, once he’d realized the old guy wasn’t likely to make it. The kid was probably going to blame him anyway, not just because he was convenient, but due to all this coming out now. Tony figured he probably was partly to blame. The added stress of all this wasn’t helping anything.

He saw Cap step into the room looking awkward but determined. “We can wait to do this Dr. Rogers,” Tony said, hoping he was hiding how badly he wanted details.

“No. Glad you’re here,” He said and then rested a moment before continuing, “I don’t want this to go to the grave with me.”

“Dad!” the kid squawked. 

“Steve,” He patted Steve’s hands with the hand with the IV, and said, “Every moment since I found out you were alive has been a gift. I thought I’d lost my chance. That I’d never get to tell you, how much I love you, how proud I am of the man you’ve become.” He stopped and breathed heavily before continuing, “You brought wonder into my life. I know I wasn’t always wise about it. I wasted so much time trying to mold you into someone you weren’t. But you inherited the best of the Stark DNA, the stubborn tenacity, the drive, the focus, but the wisdom… the wisdom to know what to pursue, what was best for you that is uniquely yours, my son.”

Steve folded over, resting his head on their joined hands, Tony felt his own heart break as he heard him softy plead, “Don’t die, daddy, please don’t leave me. Don’t go.”

Tony met the Dr. Rodger’s eyes, they were still feverish and his color was bad. He was surprised none of the monitors had brought staff running, but then given the prognosis it was only a matter of when. “You have my word,” Tony said softly and Dr. Rogers just nodded and relaxed as if a weight was off his shoulders.

“I worked with Howard for years. I think the reason he kept looking for you Captain was my research showed that the cold alone wouldn’t have killed you, in theory; if we could find you we could revive you.” He grimaced and continued. “Obadiah never saw a future in genetics as far as he was concerned since the only scientist to succeed had stated the nature of the serum made mass production of soldiers unviable it wasn’t cost effect to pursue.”

Rogers stopped talking for a while resting again and brushing his fingers though his son’s hair. “I had doubts that your parent’s deaths were accidents.” he finally said to Tony. Cap’s swiftly indrawn breath showed his shock but Tony just nodded. Tony had wondered himself, not before he’d taken out Obie, but after he learned the hard way how far Stane would go; yeah there’d been a few brooding nights. 

“I can’t describe how angry I was, that man, the idea he was destroying all that your father and I had worked on, sweeping away anything that wasn’t purely for profit. I wish I could say I had concerns for you, but I was only a scientist then. It took becoming a father for me to realize that I left Howard’s greatest creation alone with that mad man, and for that I,” his voice broke it now it might not just be fever, brightening his eyes. “I don’t have words to say how sorry I am. If you can’t forgive an old man, forgive the foolish young man who acted blindly and in haste.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tony said. “Obie drove a lot of people to rash acts, even I regret some of them,” He added trying to lighten the moment.

“I had cells, from you, from your umbilical cord, from the placenta. Howard was aware. Back then my research wasn’t into creating a whole person. You have to understand replacement organs were in their infancy, we knew so little. You father wanted, if it became possible as time went by, he wanted you to have,” Rogers chuckled. “He wanted you to live. He wanted you safe and whole. Like I said, seeing it from this end, looking back as a father with a son of my own; he wanted you to have everything. Everything you needed to lead a long healthy life.”

Tony didn’t even bother hiding as he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his tee shirt. He had nothing to be ashamed of, Cap had tears streaming down his face. 

“All my research, all the notes everything up until Steve turned fourteen is in a vault in Zurich - Pictet and Cie, main branch, vault number 590216, only you and I have access to it, give them the password ‘Howard’,” he said.

His energy was drain; even laying still seemed to be taxing him. But Tony was struck by the fact that this might be the only time he’d ever be able to talk to him so he asked, “Why stop at fourteen?”

“I was afraid. Stephanie,” he started, and then his eyes cut to his son, before he continued, “she would never knowingly hurt our son. But she might have revealed the location to Jacques and I didn’t want to risk that he could buy or intimidate his way into even a place like that. Keeping everyone ignorant of my works existence, and its location seemed the only way to be sure Steve stayed safe.”

“Mom doesn’t know,” Steve asked incredulously. “How the hell does that work?”

The hitch in Dr. Rogers breathing turned out to be a laugh, “she knows you were implanted once you started to develop. It was by no means a sure thing. There was only about a thirty percent chance, even if we timed her cycle perfectly that you would be able to survive outside the completely controlled laboratory you were generated in. I imagine she believes you were conceived using an egg and sperm like any other child. Given Tony was rather famously sewing his wild oats at the time she probably assumed I, er, acquired his DNA from the normal source.”

“I wasn’t conceived?” Steve asked.

“No my young sapling you did not spring from an acorn. Think of yourself a new growth. As if a branch was cut from Tony at the time of his birth, and planted on its own to grow into a full separate tree,” Rogers said.

“I realize you’re trying to dumb this down for your feckless musician son, but why aren’t the trees the same age?” Steve asked.

“You would be, if it had happened naturally, like with twins, but you have more in common with the good Captain than a name. You, too, spend a number of years frozen, only to resume you’re life and grow up at a later date,” Rogers said.

“So your wife thinks I’m junior’s bio dad,” Tony asked. He had to ask really, from what he’d overheard from the rest of the mighty mites; Mama Rogers could be a problem. If Steve were an infant, the DNA would show paternity and give him legal standing but a sixteen year old loudly defending his mother and explaining he was a clone could be a media problem too big for even Pepper to solve.

“Mom doesn’t-” Steve started.

“Hush,” his father said and he quieted instantly. “You know your mother loves you. But she couldn’t conceive but could carry. She knew how I felt about Stane and she commented to me more than once when you were a toddler on how much you resembled Tony. She thought I was going to use you to gain access to the company or the fortune. I’m not sure what her exact suspicions were, we never acknowledged them, but she did become very protective of you. Even to the degree I think she may have felt she had to protect you from me. Not that she thought I would hurt you, but that you would be hurt by the concept you were nothing but bargaining chip. That’s why I never told her about the vault. She wouldn’t have known what it was but she might have turned it over to Jacques and I couldn’t risk that. “

Ron rested over the next two hours, never really sleeping but dozing for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then asking Steve about some shared memory. It painted a picture of their life, a distracted father, puzzled by a son he expected to grow and develop both physically and mentally in a way charted out by the original. But Mozart and Mingus, took the place of circuit board and engines. Steve was playing by four and composing my six. Tony would have left them alone, but Ron seemed to like telling stories to him and Cap, sometimes to Steve’s embarrassment. Tony didn’t remember Howard every doing this, maybe he had when Tony hadn’t been around which was often. 

Just as Ron was painting a verbal picture of how at nine month Steve would sing to himself in the middle of the night. The baby monitor transmitting babbled repetitive consonance sounds oddly on pitch and his wife and he exchanging confused looks because the baby seemed perfectly content but just would not shut up. The girlfriend peeked in the door, hair wet from a recent shower she was in scrubs and using a walker. She made her way to Steve’s side, glared at Cap until he went to get her a chair. 

“You should be in bed,” Steve said while Cap was off fetching the chair.

“I will be, but now I’m here with you.” She said. When the chair was placed to her liking she sat next to her boyfriend and placed a hand on his back, slowly rubbing it in circles. 

They all sat quietly for a while as Ron was again in a light doze, and the next time Ron roused he seemed even weaker. 

“Hello, Mr. Rogers.” She said, “I’m sorry my dad had you beaten to death.”  
Tony startled, because even he didn’t say shit like that. But she continued, “I’ll take care of Steve, you know I will. I promise if anyone, and I do mean anyone, is a danger to him. I’ll eliminate them, or die trying.”

Oddly this caused Ron to smile and say, “I always liked you. You always wanted him to be himself.”

“I can kill my on monsters, Al,” Steve hissed when it looked like his father was back to dozing.

“But you don’t have to, not alone,” she said, “That’s what it means being part of a team.”

“Are we still a team, now that, well, everything’s done?” Steve asked, and Tony exchanged a rueful smile with Cap.

“Yeah, I think that assassin lady wants to recruit Seth, and she might be sleeping with Auggie, so we should probably stick close, make sure she doesn’t get them killed,” Al said.

Tony started to chock on that but choked in earnest when Steve said, “Yuck, don’t talk about old people sex.”

“Natasha is not old,” he broke in and looked to Cap to back him up but Cap was busy blushing and looking away, so he added, “and she is not having sex with the blind guy.”

“Don’t be a sightist,” They said together.

Another hour and the girl had gone back to her room, and her pain medication. When she’d been discovered by the medic he had explained the girl was permitted, even required to walk and sit but only in fifteen minute increments. Thor’s boisterous presence was too much for ICU but he stop in about that time and escorted Miss. Larroquette back to her room. 

As they left Thor’s voice carried as he explained to the ‘young warrior maiden’ that he was not as she had assumed ‘God of Property Damage’.” 

Tony just made out her reply of, “Well you haven’t been back to Earth very long, give it time,” before the elevator doors closed.

About forty minutes later, Ron woke, and Steve, who’d finally slipped into a deeper sleep, jerked awake looking wide eyed and scared.

“Do you remember your concert, the one I missed,” Rogers asked.

The kid smiled, ruefully, “You were pretty mad. You just found out I dropped Physics. But, you did make it for the end.”

“I was planning to ground you, drag you home so you missed that party Al was throwing you,” he sighed. “But I stood and listen, you had the audience spellbound, you were,” he trailed off and wiped his eyes with the hand his son wasn’t holding. “That last song, there was a line about adversity,” he stopped and his breathing was labored.

Steve chucked though his eyes were bright with tears, “Dad, I didn’t write that. It was one of Stan Rogers.”

“How did it go, son,” Rogers sighed.

Steve clear his throat, removed one hand from his father’s to wipe his eyes before resuming his two handed grip. Tony was surprised by his clear tenor; he’d never really learned to do more than belt out the lyrics to cock rock, but apparently if he had honed it he could have been a singer. “For we couldn’t leave her there you see, to crumble into scale, she’d save our lives so many times living through the gale. And the laughing drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave, they won’t be laughing in another day. And you, to whom adversity has dealt the final blow, with smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go. Turn to and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain and like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again. Rise again, rise again though your heart it be broken or life about to end, no matter what you’ve lost be it a home, a love, a friend, like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again. Rise again, rise again though your heart it be broken or life about to end, no matter what you’ve lost be it a home, a love, a friend, like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.”

It was only a few minutes later that the labored breathing ceased. 

 

Twenty minutes into the future – Stark Tower

Al waylaid Tony as he stepped in through the back entrance. “I’ll take that,” she said, pulling the legal documents from his hand.

“I really think I can handle this,” he said.

“I really think you can’t,” she pushed and nod in the direction of the office he kept in the tower’s living quarters and added, “but if you behave, JARVIS will let you watch.”

Tony shook his head, she was a pistol. On a whim he headed into the office and had JARVIS call up the scene in the lounge on the plasma.

“Mother Rogers, I’m so please you were prompt. I’m sure you’ll be delighted, Mr. Stark has made a generous offer. Just sign, your release and Steve’s emancipation papers will be complete and you can be on your way to Palm Springs before the ink dries,” Al slapped the packet down loudly on the coffee table in front of her and held out a pen. 

Tony snorted at the amateur lead in and then jumped when he realized Seth had ghosted up beside him to watch the show.

“Allouetta,” Stephanie Rogers said, wincing as if Al brash personality hurt something in her very soul. “Stephen has no need to be emancipated and when I leave he is coming with me.”

“Well,” Al said, with a bright gleeful smile. “Personally I thought you were getting way too much in this deal. Not just the lack of prosecution. You did, according to the death bed confession your late husband made, knowingly and with intent to defraud the Stark family estate carry a child conceived of stolen DNA. That alone will get you some serious time, and not at some country club, but real prison. And once Steve finds out that the reason I was able to get you out before the shit hit the fan, the reason that you were the one woman in that compound who could board the corporate jet and not cause so much as a raised eyebrow was you had a- what shall we call it? Private arrangement with Daddy? Finding out this soon after his dad died. Died I might add because he, unlike you, would not cooperate with Daddy, while you were safe and sound. I’m not seeing him visiting his poor grey haired - and believe me Miss Clairol there will be no salon visits in the pokey, so you will be very gray or maybe two toned since old people’s hair doesn’t grow so fast – mum in prison.”

“My son loves me he would never believe-“ she started.

And Tony was in awe of how quickly Al morphed from the smiling well-dressed heiress to a hard edged scary bad ass that had fired mortar rounds underground because stuff wasn’t exploding fast enough.

“You listen to me you passive aggressive sociopathic narcissist,” she hissed though gritted teeth, “If I could have gotten anyone else out of there- If I could have gotten Jason’s mom out of there, do you think I wouldn’t? I liked her. I respected her. She was a God dammed mother. A real mother. Not some cheap social climbing, barren, manipulative attention-whore who thinks a child is the golden ticket to the candy factory. I want you to turn down the deal you dumbass. I want the curtain pulled aside and all you machinations exposed. If it’s not you’ll be in his life forever, pretending to care, pretending to be his mom, when you know and I know it was never anything but a long con.”

Stephanie’s hand shook as she signed and afterward she covered her mouth with the back of her hand, tears artfully glistening in her eyes. As she stood to leave she got herself back together and gasped in a soft broken voice, looking around almost as if she were playing to the cameras, “Steven knows I love him. He will always have a place with me. He will always be my son. Girls like you come and go but I will always be his mother.”

After she left in the main elevator, Tony followed Seth out to the lounge. For once he was at a loss when Al handed him the signed papers. He poured himself a drink to stall and looked up sharply when Seth asked, “and when she realizes you played her?”

“If she’s smart? She keeps her mouth shut and her head down,” Al said still glaring at the elevator door.

“We all know she’s not smart,” Seth said. “What’s the plan for when she has to be taken out.”

“I can’t hear this,” Tony yelped. “JARVIS stop recording.”

“Oh, please, belay that JARVIS there is nothing illegal going on that you have to shelter your daddy from,” Al said rolling her eyes and stalking over to the floor to ceiling windows. “Tony if she doesn’t lie low, very low and stays far away from the public eye she is risking coming to Daddy’s attention.”

“What?” Despite asking, a light of understanding blossomed in his eyes. He wasn’t called a genius for nothing. “He’ll think it was her - that tipped off SHIELD. As far as he knows it would have been the only way…You really are girl me. Did you plan that? From the beginning when you suggested getting her to safety?”

“I didn’t suggest getting her to safety,” Al said turning with a smile. “As soon as it became obvious that everyone was essentially prisoners, but before they rounded them up to the cells, Steve wanted her out and was looking for a way. He knew she’d requested leave to attend a conference and to shop and that all leaves had to be approved by Daddy. I just suggested that if we forged the approval she’d be out before he knew she was gone.”

“However,” she emphasized with a rolling hand gesture, “We knew that she could be retrieved from Vienna if she were where she was supposed to be. The pilot and crew had an idea something was going on but they wanted away and I simply gave them a way to get away. Once they stashed her they had the plane and new forged identities and enough money to make a new start. The crew never knew it was from me of course, the sealed case Steve gave his mom to give the pilot said they were from Daddy, but the change of course and destination, documents, cash and fake account numbers seemed to be a bribe from her to get her away and then disappear -- after all she was the one to give it to them. They might have thought her husband was getting her out. They were pretty sure they would end up dead if they stayed and considering Daddy had all the crew, not part of his escape, executed before he left the hanger, they were right.” 

Tony walked over met her eye to eye. “You really think you can keep this from Steve?” he asked.

“What makes you think he doesn’t know, dumbass?” she said, she leveled the same fond exasperated look she used on Steve. Tony could almost her thinking ‘oh, God, he never out grows being oblivious’. 

“But he” Tony stopped, he wasn’t sure what to say, he was surprised when it wasn’t Al’s exasperated explanation but Seth’s soft ironic tone that picked up.

“Loves her?” The blond looked like an college kid today in jeans and a hoody but he still moved like beautiful death. “Despite the clichés, love isn’t blind. Love simply forgives. Forgives the imperfections, the shortcomings, the weakness, it accepts us as we are - chaotic messes. Pepper could probably explain it to you better,” Seth teased and shared a smile with Al. 

Moving on from that the girly moment, which was unfair because the girl should have been the one outnumbered, Tony asked. “You really think your father will think it was her?”

Al considered his question seriously. “I don’t know. Steve is probably the only one alive that knows me better than Daddy. I’m not sure that Daddy ever fully bought the pampered princess routine.”

“You are a pampered princess,” Tony and Seth chorused.

She frowned but didn’t bother pouting or huffing since these they were immune to her. “You tell me, as a rich, spoiled, obscenely paranoid” she held up a hand to stop Tony from butting in, “not without reason,” She admitted and continued, “empire builder yourself. Who would you think got one over on you, the artistic thug, the feckless musician, the beautiful self-centered princess,” she took a bow and then gestured to Seth, “the painfully shy, writer and the blind computer teacher. Or would you believe it’s the woman you took to your bed, who may have helped you off your wife, who may have been using her husband’s research to pull a long con and who first stole one of your planes and disappeared and is now -- out of nowhere -- in possession of a her own mansion in Palm Spring, membership to its country club and living the life of a very wealthy widow, when you know all her husband’s asset went to their son.”

Tony threw back his drink and set the glass down. If he hadn’t been there he wouldn’t have believe it. He could not design a better fall guy. She had design the fall guy, maybe with Seth’s help. The kid could not know she did this, could he? He looked back at them, not even legal adults, despite both now being emancipated, founding members of the ‘our fathers are evil’ club. Al couldn’t pull off that serene smile of Seth’s hers always edged to cat that got the canary. No, he’d put money that Steve and Jason had no idea that these two had set a backup plan so that they, most importantly that Steve and Jason, never fell in their father’s crosshairs if one of the men survived. But if they did know, or found out, they’d forgive, not only because what Seth said was right but because Al and Seth didn’t do it to keep themselves safe. They did it to protect their men, and they kept it from them because in a case like this, ignorance really was bliss.

He shook his head and left the two diabolical kids to watch the sun set. As he arrived at the elevator the doors open revealing Pepper. He caught her in his arms and waltzed her back into the car as the doors slid closed.

“Tony,” she started with a laugh.

“Promise me, we will never breed,” He said.

“Oh, Tony! You’ve been talking to the kids again,” she stated ruefully. She had been the one who was worried about moving them in, given the big target always on the Avengers but Tony would pit those kids against a super villain any day. 

The elevator chimed softly and the doors opened the floor with their bedroom. Pepper, in spite of, or perhaps because of her original worries had taken to all the kids, but doted on Steve and Jason. He was relieved that they now didn’t have to worry about any parental units dragging them off, but thought it best to leave her in the dark about some of the security measures taken to insure that it didn’t happen. And if she eventually found out, well luck for him - love forgives.

The End

The promised Cast List

Jacque Larroquette – Played by Barry Corbin (circa Northern Exposure). The company, Devereaux Designs, he owns and runs keeps just a low because it is a front for AIM. Most of the researchers working in their labs don’t know the reason little of their projects ever hit the shelves is because their research is not for mass market but to take out SHIELD and various other world law enforcement and to be sold to other organizations of dubious intent.

Amanda Larroquette nee Devereaux – played by Brenda Benet. The Larroquette empire started with the money he married into her father was a legitimate European weapons manufacturer and left controlling interest of the company in trust for her and her descendants. Should both she and her daughter predecease her spouse everything is audited and most of it leaves Larroquette’s control and the trust to the government. Her apparent suicide occurs only months prior to the compound containing the school and research and testing base being severed from all outside contact.

Allouetta Larroquette - played by a very young Charisma Carpenter – think Cordelia Chase meets Angus McGyver. Combine an intuitive understanding of mechanics and the best education money can buy along with a BFF who was lavished with high tech lab material in hope he would become the next Tony Stark, but preferred music. Outwardly she plays up the spoiled rich girl persona but knows something is up and is not sure who she can trust other than Steve. (Code Name – Iron Man)

Ronald Rogers – played by John Hurt. Former Stark Industries researcher worked with Howard on decoding the super solider serum, left shortly after Obie took the helm, as Obie was concentrating on tech as opposed to genetics. 

Stephanie Rogers – played by Kathleen Turner (circa Serial Mom). Unable to conceive on her own she was able to function as a surrogate for Ronald experiment. She is the ultimate helicopter parent trying to manage every aspect of her son’s life. Unfortunately the one element she would most like to remove is the daughter of the man in charge.

Steven Rogers - played by a very young Robert Downey Jr (think Tuff Turf or Weird Science) Ronald cloned Tony almost seventeen years ago. Unfortunately, all the mad math skills Tony had translated to Steve as musical ability, skilled in voice, composition and numerous instruments. Without Howard’s supervision this version spent time playing music while watching Al gleefully blow shit up in the lab. (Code Name – Captain America)

Jason Adams – played by a very young Adam Baldwin (think My Bodyguard) large for his age he’s often dismissed as a thug. Artistic, he’s very observant and reads others well. Very good with children although he’ll bitch about it the whole time, actually there isn’t much he isn’t willing to have a good long bitch about. He is very good at choosing who to trust and who to guard against and how to spot weaknesses. (Code Name – Hulk)

Seth Hawke – played by Paul Butcher introverted to the point most of his classmates can’t remember if they’ve ever heard him speak. Writes, mostly fan fiction (Iron Man/Captain America if you must know), reads near constantly and holds himself apart from the faculty, except Mr. Anderson. Athletic and intelligent he favored yoga and tai chi prior to the crisis, never thought of as a team player. Shows signs of at least emotional abuse, but the compound he’s been raise in fills nonessential positions like counselors and sometimes teachers with the spouses of the employees regardless of qualifications. (Code Name – Black Widow)

August Anderson – played by Christopher Gorham – in this universe after Captain Anderson was wounded in Tikrit he was never reintegrated into the CIA but was pensioned out on medical disability. Following his own suspicion he got a job teaching computer science in the Larroquette Institute where the children of Devereaux Designs’s employees are educated enabling them to live onsite with the families of the researchers. Former CIA and Army Ranger he’s experienced at using what’s available to get the job done, but uncomfortable recruiting noncombatants, especially children. (Code Name – Hawkeye)

 

Additional disclaimers and referrences

Auggie Anderson is from the series Covert Affairs – which I also do not own

Emma Peel is from the 1960 series The Avengers – which has nothing to do with Marvel Comics – neither of which I own

Spark or the spark is from the webcomic ‘Girl Genius’ which I also do not own

“every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse” is from ‘The Fugitive’ I don’t own that either

‘Harris and the Mule’, ‘Witch of the Westmoreland’ and ‘Mary Ellen Carter’ are all songs by the late Stan Rogers – worth a listen to on youtube – I don’t know if he was related to either Steve

Mostly dead, not all dead – is from ‘The Princess Bride’

Ben Stein doesn’t own Intelligent Design, but he did make a documentary on it if you’re interested

Auggie’s response to Hill “I spent twelve months down in the farm, I did my SERE training at Fort Bragg and I have *four* mean-ass older brothers. You don't think I know how to lie well enough to beat that thing?” is a direct quote from Covert Affairs.

Twenty minutes into the future is from ‘Max Headroom’ which is the time all the episodes started it’s ambiguous almost there time, following the debriefings but before the therapy has finished or college has started. 

There are also numerous other pop culture references which I don’t know and may not know exactly where they come from because they have become such a part of our daily lives.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is dedicated to Janet Van Dyne and all the bad ass heiresses out there.
> 
>  
> 
> Author’s Note: It’s a little light on the real Avengers you say? You were warned. This is my first story for the Avengers fandom and somehow this just sprang almost full grown as fast as the words would come. Thanks for giving it a try; I appreciate those of you who stayed for the ride. I also hereby give blanket permission to anyone who wants to take this story as a jumping off point and flesh out any of the backstory or future fics. (I’ve never understood fan writers who don’t want others to play in their playground, after all we’re all borrowing someone else’s toys) I not saying I won’t do a sequel but I’d be interested in reading anyone else’s take on how Tony will deal with his clone or Auggie working for SHIELD. The Covert Affairs fandom is way too Auggie/Annie heavy for me to ever get into it but I think he’s an amazing character with limitless potential. And I can’t shake the picture of Al and Natasha dragging Seth to a spa, all the while him pointing out he is still a guy and quite happy to be one thank you. See the OCs just take over – they’re very pushy.
> 
>  


End file.
